KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — The ringgit jumped to a fresh 14-month high against the greenback today, hitting 4.1200 at the close as the continued anticipation of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) next week weighed on the dollar.
At 6pm, the ringgit advanced to 4.1200/1235 versus the greenback compared with yesterday’s close of 4.1275/1330.
The local currency beat the previous high recorded on September 30, 2024, when it closed at 4.1210 against the greenback.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the expectation of an interest rate cut by the Fed next week has clearly resulted in a stronger ringgit as the decision will narrow the gap in the rate differential between the Federal Funds Rate and Malaysia’s overnight policy rate.
“Based on the interest rate futures contract, the probability of an (US) interest rate cut next week has gone up to more than 90 per cent at the moment,” he told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit trended lower against major currencies.
It fell versus the British pound to 5.4697/4744 from 5.4524/4597 at yesterday’s close, slid against the euro to 4.7982/8022 from 4.7920/7984, and edged down vis-à-vis the Japanese yen to 2.6476/6501 from 2.6463/6500.
However, the local note traded mostly higher against Asean currencies.
It gained versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1810/1839 from 3.1816/1861 at yesterday’s close, climbed against the Indonesian rupiah to 247.7/248.1 from 248.2/248.7, and was higher against the Philippine peso at 6.99/7.00 from 7.05/7.06 yesterday.
The ringgit, however, dipped vis-à-vis the Thai baht to 12.9024/9186 from 12.8928/9164 previously.
