KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 — The ringgit is expected to trade flat next week, potentially trading at around RM4.41 to RM4.42, said Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid.
He said that United States (US) President Donald Trump indicated a reluctance to keep raising the tariff against China as it might impact the trade between the two nations.
Additionally, several US Federal Reserve officials, including Christopher Waller and Austan Goolsbee, are scheduled to share their thoughts on the current state of the economy next week.
Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes expects market volatility to remain muted next week as diminishing returns on the US-China tariff front have been reached.
He anticipates the ringgit to trade within a slightly broader range of RM4.39 to RM4.43, reflecting the ongoing negotiation dynamics.
At this stage, markets expect some level of give-and-take to materialise out of necessity to avoid further economic drag.
“An easing of US-China tensions might provide some support for the ringgit, though, as always, there is no certainty as the market closely monitors the news flow.
“Therefore, the local note will likely hover around RM4.41. Overall, Asian currencies and the ringgit are expected to strengthen, driven by progress in trade talks over the coming month or two,” Innes said.
The local currency ended the week at 4.4100/4175 against the greenback, up from 4.4200/4265 the previous week. Year to date, the ringgit has risen by 1.32 per cent.
It gained against the euro to 5.0133/0218 from 5.0207/0281 last week, but eased versus the Japanese yen to 3.0971/1028 from 3.0952/1000 and weakened vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.8516/8616 from 5.7849/7934.
The local note was traded mostly lower against Asean currencies.
It gained against the Indonesian rupiah to 261.2/261.8 from 263.1/263.6 last week.
However, it depreciated against the Philippine peso to 7.77/7.79 from 7.75/7.77, slid versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3603/3667 from 3.3495/3549 and declined against the Thai baht to 13.1815/2154 from 13.1599/1902.
— Bernama
