KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 — The ringgit closed higher against the US dollar today on better buying support for the local note, tracking other emerging currencies following the better-than-expected economic data from China, a dealer said.
At 6pm, it rose to 4.1600/1630 versus the greenback from 4.1645/1665 at last Friday’s close.
According to reports, China’s Industrial Production Index rose 3.5 per cent year-on-year in October, exceeding September’s reading, while retail sales growth accelerated to 4.9 per cent, beating economists’ expectations.
“Indeed the positive economic data on China exports is favourable for the ringgit as it will also benefit Malaysia’s exporters,” she told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said key data points to look out for would be the United States Retail Sales data that would be announced on Tuesday.
“Should retail sales turn out to be better than expected, it would lead to a higher US dollar as it will bolster the expectation of a higher Federal Fund Rate,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies, except for the euro, where it marginally rose to 4.7620/7654 from 4.7646/7669.
The local note had eased versus the Japanese yen to 3.6543/6569 from 3.6521/6550 at Friday’s close, fell vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.5794/5834 from 5.5783/5810 and narrowed against the Singapore dollar at 3.0790/0814 from 3.0757/0776 previously.
— Bernama
