The ringgit opened slightly stronger against the US dollar this morning, trading at 4.4330/4.4465 at 8am, up from Tuesday's close of 4.4365/4.4400, despite a stronger US Dollar Index (DXY) that would typically increase demand for the greenback.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's chief economist, Afzanizam Rashid, commented on the anticipated rise in demand for the US dollar, pointing to signals from US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials. He noted, "Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari suggested that he will look at the upcoming inflation data before making any decision on the interest rate."
Afzanizam added that the ringgit and other emerging market currencies may experience continued weakness in the short term due to these developments. Investors are closely watching the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data expected later today, with projections pointing to a 2.6% year-on-year increase in October, up from 2.4% previously, while Core CPI is expected to hold at 3.3%.
The ringgit also opened higher against a range of major currencies, showing gains against the British pound at 5.6463/5.6635, compared to Tuesday's close of 5.6889/5.6934. It similarly strengthened against the euro to 4.7061/4.7204 from 4.7111/4.7148, and firmed against the Japanese yen, trading at 2.8661/2.8752 compared to 2.8788/2.8812 previously.
Among Asean currencies, the ringgit performed well, trading higher against the Thai baht at 12.7162/12.7637 from Tuesday's close of 12.7456/12.7608, and stronger against the Singapore dollar at 3.3107/3.3210 from 3.3143/3.3174. It also marginally improved against the Philippine peso, rising to 7.53/7.56 from 7.54/7.55, and traded slightly higher against the Indonesian rupiah at 280.8/281.9 from 281.0/281.5.
FMT
