KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — The ringgit opened flat amid Malaysia’s better-than-expected second quarter of 2024 economic data, ahead of the anticipated United States (US) interest rate cuts, according to an analyst.
At 8 am, the ringgit remained unchanged at 4.4295/4350 versus the greenback from last Friday’s close of 4.4295/4350.
“This week, the focus will be on the Jackson Hole Symposium — the annual gathering of global central bank leaders which will be held on Aug 22-24 in Wyoming, US,” he said.
Additionally, he told Bernama that the US jobless claims and economic activity data would also take centre stage this week, as traders await remarks from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) chief Jerome Powell.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It slipped versus the Japanese yen to 2.9931/9972 from 2.9792/9833 at the close last Friday, fell vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8835/8896 from 4.8680/8741 last week and depreciated against the British pound to 5.7344/7416 from 5.7167/7238 previously.
At the same time, the local note turned mixed against Asean currencies, sliding versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3661/3702 from 3.3582/3627 last Friday and easing against the Thai baht to 12.8013/8242 from 12.6445/6656 previously.
The ringgit was unchanged against the Philippines’ peso at 7.74/7.75 and the Indonesian rupiah at 282.2/282.7 from Friday last week.
— Bernama
