KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 — The ringgit ended higher against major and ASEAN currencies on Thursday but dipped against the United States (US) dollar as growing expectations of an aggressive US interest rate hike boosted demand for the greenback.
At 6pm, the local currency depreciated to 4.0765/0805 against the greenback from 4.0710/0745 at Wednesday's close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit fell 0.22 per cent to RM4.0817 against the US dollar during the trading session, amid broader weakness in regional currencies.
“The Indonesian rupiah also came under significant selling pressure, while other Asian currencies weakened against the greenback amid heightened expectations of further US monetary tightening,” he told Bernama.
Afzanizam noted that the US Dollar Index fluctuated between 102.890 and 103.083 points as hawkish signals from US Federal Reserve (US Fed) officials continued to dominate market sentiment following recent stronger-than-expected US inflation data.
“Looking ahead, the ringgit is expected to remain under pressure in the near term as markets increasingly anticipate a potentially aggressive rate hike at the US Fed's December meeting, which could further strengthen the US dollar,” he said.
The ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
It strengthened against the euro to 4.5225/5269 from 4.5343/5382 at Wednesday’s close, appreciated vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.4103/4156 from 5.4246/4293 and rose against the Japanese yen to 2.5524/5551 from 2.5609/5632.
The ringgit also traded higher against its ASEAN peers.
It edged up against the Singapore dollar to 3.1726/1760 from 3.1745/1775, appreciated against the Thai baht to 12.0678/0836 from 12.0963/1117, and climbed vis-à-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 223.5/223.8 from 224.3/224.6. It rose against the Philippine peso to 6.40/6.41 from 6.43/6.44 yesterday.
