KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — The ringgit ended mostly higher against major currencies today, but weakened against the greenback, as investors digested the United States Federal Reserve’s (Fed) latest interest rate decision, an analyst said.
At 6pm, the local currency fell to 4.0965/1010 against the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.0835/0880. The market was closed for a public holiday yesterday.
The ringgit touched a low of 4.1012 at 9.13am today before it rebounded to close at 4.0965.
The US central bank yesterday raised the federal funds rate target range to 3.75 to 4 per cent from 3.5 to 3.75 per cent.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the Fed is unlikely to be done with its 25-basis-point rate hike yesterday, with further increases potentially on the horizon as the US central bank remains committed to bringing inflation back to its two per cent target.
“Tomorrow, the market will be focusing on the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) rate decision, and the market is expecting a 25-basis-point increase as a possible outcome. Hence, market sentiments are expected to remain guarded amid the restrictive monetary policy stance adopted by the major central banks,” he told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit gained against the euro to 4.7003/7055 from Tuesday’s close of 4.7111/7163, rose against the yen to 2.6305/6336 from 2.6366/6396, and advanced vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.4877/4937 from 5.5037/5098 previously.
Against ASEAN peers, the ringgit eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.2099/2137 from 3.2093/2131, and dipped against the Thai baht to 12.2734/2917 from 12.2620/2800.
The local note was also down vis-à-vis the Philippine peso to 6.53/6.54 from 6.50/6.51, and remained unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 230.7/231.1 yesterday.
