KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — The ringgit ended almost flat against the greenback on Thursday as the United States (US) Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes provided little clue about when a rate cut will happen.
At 6pm, the ringgit stood at 4.6330/6370 versus the US dollar from Wednesday’s close of 4.6300/6355.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit depreciated to as low as RM4.6448 but stayed at the RM4.6300 level towards the end of the session.
The FOMC minutes showed the US Federal Reserve is anticipated to cut the interest rate this year but might do it towards the end of 2024.
“The discrepancies between what the market thinks about the timing of a rate cut and the signal from the FOMC may cause further volatility in the currency markets,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It weakened vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.8964/9015 from 5.8463/8532 on Wednesday and slipped versus the euro to 5.0829/0873 from 5.0634/0694.
The local currency appreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.2185/2215 from 3.2462/2502 yesterday.
The ringgit was traded mixed against Asean currencies.
It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.4903/4936 from 3.4885/4932 at yesterday’s close and depreciated vis-à-vis the Philippine peso to 8.35/8.36 from 8.33/8.34.
The local currency was flat versus the Indonesian rupiah to 299.0/299.4 from 299.0/299.5, while it rose against the Thai baht at 13.4500/4687 from 13.4824/5063.
— Bernama
