KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — The ringgit is expected to trade in a cautious mode next week, tracking the performance of other emerging market currencies and the trajectory of US bond yields, said analysts.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the ringgit depreciated by less than 0.5 per cent this week to reach RM4.11 per US dollar on Friday as US Treasury yields continued to rise.
“For next week, the ringgit should trade in the range of RM4.10 to RM4.12 per US dollar, depending on the trajectory of bond yields,” he said.
Looking ahead, he said investors would also monitor closely the movement of bond yields after the benchmark US 10-year note climbed as much as 11 basis points to 1.75 per cent, the highest since January 2020, on Thursday.
“The People’s Bank of China will also be holding its meeting next week and investors will look closely if the central bank would implement monetary policy tightening as the economy improves,” he added.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit rose against the US dollar to 4.1050/1100 versus 4.1160/1200 a week earlier.
The local note also traded easier against other major currencies.
It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.0564/0603 from 3.0557/0593 a week earlier but strengthened against the Japanese yen to 3.7712/7762 from 3.7720/7760.
The ringgit also rose vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.7150/7228 from 5.7262/7326 on Friday last week and appreciated against the euro to 4.8813/8884 from 4.9050/9106.
— Bernama
