KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar today, supported by expectations surrounding Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) overnight policy rate (OPR) decision at its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting next week.
At 8 am, the ringgit strengthened to 4.0720/0800 against the US dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.0745/0790.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said keeping the OPR unchanged at 2.75 per cent could provide support for the local currency.
Meanwhile, he said the US Dollar Index (DXY) was down 0.19 per cent at 102.127 points after the Federal Open Market Committee left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75 to four per cent.
“It appears that the Federal Reserve is taking a guarded approach to reach its price stability goal at a time when the economy is deemed to be growing at a robust rate.
“On that note, we foresee the ringgit could be well supported,” he told Bernama.
At the opening, the ringgit traded mostly lower against major currencies.
The local currency strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5798/5851 from yesterday’s close of 2.5812/5843, but weakened against the British pound to 5.4268/4374 from 5.4130/4190 and the euro to 4.5427/5516 from 4.5337/5387.
The ringgit traded mixed against its ASEAN peers.
It edged up against the Indonesian rupiah to 223.9/224.4 from 224.0/224.4, while remaining unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.36/6.37.
The local currency weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1785/1850 from yesterday’s close of 3.1775/1813 and slipped marginally against the Thai baht to 12.0759/1068 from 12.0726/0902.
