KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — The ringgit is sharply higher against the US dollar in the early session today amid a significant increase in the US Federal Fund Rate (FFR) of 50 basis points.
At 9.04am, the local note was pegged at 4.3360/3400 versus the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.3520/3570.
The currency market was on a three-day break from Monday for the Aidilfitri celebrations.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) decision cleared the path for the currency market as it has (aligned) and would normalise its benchmark rate and reduce its balance sheet size.
“In that sense, it has been clearly communicated to the public and therefore, will facilitate their decision making.
“As for the ringgit, we believe it might appreciate around RM4.33 to RM4.34 as the currency has been deeply oversold against the US dollar. So, we think the ringgit is poised for an appreciation today,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.
It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.1551/1582 from Friday’s close of 3.1543/1584 and increased vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.4677/4727 from 5.4652/4715.
The local note fell versus the Japanese yen to 3579/3612 from 3.3392/3433 and was flat against the euro at 4.6018/6060 from 4.6018/6071.
— Bernama
