KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — The ringgit opened almost flat against the US dollar as traders and investors reacted to the US Federal Reserve (Fed)’s unexpectedly hawkish interest rate cut on Thursday, an analyst said.
At 8 am, the ringgit stood nearly unchanged at 4.1935/2050 against the greenback, compared with Thursday’s close of 4.1935/1985.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said market sentiment remained cautious as investors assessed how the Fed might set its benchmark rate in December, amid limited economic data due to the US government shutdown.
“There appears to be a de-escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
“The discussion resulted in trade concessions, including a reduction in average tariff rates for Chinese goods from 57 per cent to 47 per cent, and China’s agreement to resume purchases of US soybeans,” he told Bernama.
Mohd Afzanizam said the ringgit depreciated 0.20 per cent against the US dollar to close at 4.1960 on Thursday, with the dollar-ringgit intermittently breaching the 4.20 level during the session.
He said the ringgit is expected to maintain a cautious tone, with the dollar-ringgit likely to trade within the 4.19 to 4.20 range.
At the opening, the ringgit traded mostly higher against major currencies.
It inched up against the Japanese yen to 2.7246/7323 from 2.7266/7300 at Thursday’s close and strengthened against the British pound to 5.5182/5334 from 5.5304/5370, but eased versus the euro to 4.8527/8660 from 4.8716/8774 previously.
The local note traded mixed against ASEAN currencies.
It improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.2260/2354 from 3.2285/2326 at Thursday’s close but slipped vis-à-vis the Thai baht to 12.9693/13.0129 from 12.9501/9723 previously.
It was almost flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 252.0/252.8 from 252.0/252.4 and steady against the Philippine peso at 7.12/7.14 from 7.12/7.13 previously.
