Ringgit extends opening gains against US dollar to eighth trading day
The currency also strengthened against the pound, yen and euro, while its performance against ASEAN currencies was mixed.
The ringgit recorded its eighth consecutive higher opening against the US dollar on Oct 28, reaching 4.0855/0915 at 8 am. It had closed at 4.0865/0900 on Tuesday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid attributed support for the ringgit to optimism surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), which he said continued to drive global equity markets.
He told Bernama that the US Federal Reserve was expected to leave the federal funds rate unchanged at between 3.75 per cent and 4.0 per cent. He forecast a narrow trading range for the ringgit as traders assessed external developments, with the currency expected to trade between RM4.07 and RM4.08 against the US dollar on Oct 28.
Against other major currencies, the ringgit rose to 5.4362/4441 per British pound, compared with Tuesday’s closing level of 5.4412/4458. It strengthened to 2.5858/5897 against the Japanese yen from 2.5903/5927, and to 4.5459/5526 against the euro from 4.5524/5563.
Trading against ASEAN currencies was mixed. The ringgit edged higher to 3.1881/1932 per Singapore dollar from 3.1883/1913 and improved to 12.0884/1115 against the Thai baht from 12.1010/1160. It was nearly unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 225.0/225.4, compared with 225.0/225.3, and against the Philippine peso at 6.36/6.38, versus 6.36/6.37.
