KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar today as the greenback strengthened further following the release of US consumer price index (CPI) data, dealers said.
At 6pm, the local note stood at 4.1885/1910 versus the US dollar from 4.1825/1840 at Thursday’s close.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit continued to move in a tight range against the US dollar today with a high of RM4.1873 and a low of RM4.1898.
“This has happened despite the fourth quarter 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) result which came in higher at 3.6 per cent versus consensus estimates of 3.1 per cent,” he told Bernama.
“The US CPI which came in at 7.5 per cent year-on-year in January against the consensus estimate of 7.3 per cent has bolstered the case for a 50 basis points hike in the US Fed Fund Rate in the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting on March 15 to 16,” he said.
ActivTrades’ Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz noted that the US CPI data pointed to the highest inflation rate for the last 31 years, while the initial jobless claims data also came in slightly lower than expected at 223,000 versus a forecast of 230,000.
“This would normally support and boost the US dollar as it may force the US Fed to raise interest rates at the March meeting,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly higher against major currencies.
It rose vis-a-vis the Japanese yen at 3.6089/6111 from Thursday’s close of 3.6118/6134 and improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.1148/1169 from 3.1173/1187 yesterday.
The local unit appreciated versus the euro to 4.7686/7715 from 4.7865/7882 on Thursday but eased against the British pound to 5.6783/6817 from 5.6761/6781.
— Bernama
