KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 — The ringgit opened higher due to a correction in the US Dollar Index (DXY) and the fact that the local currency had been in an oversold position, said an analyst.
This was further influenced by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announcing the fourth quarter (4Q) 2023 gross domestic product (GDP) today.
At 9am, the ringgit stood at 4.7775/7810 against the greenback compared to Thursday’s close of 4.7800/7850.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said today’s GDP announcement will be closely watched, especially on the latest assessment by the central bank regarding the economic outlook for this year and how this could be translated into monetary policy decisions.
“Whereas, the DXY was on a bullish pattern as the Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rate steady for quite sometime before they start to cut it down and the drop in retail sales provide an opportunity for traders to lock in some gains,” he told Bernama.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said that the ringgit could see some improvements today due to rebounding global risk sentiment, which moves higher in oil prices and another slight drop in the United States yields.
“However, I think gains could be limited ahead of the US Producer Price Index released later as traders might be cautious about another warmer inflation reading in the wake of this week’s Consumer Price Index data,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local note firmed vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.1818/1844 from 3.1860/1896 at Thursday’s close, but slipped against the British pound to 6.0125/0169 from 6.0008/0071, and shed versus the euro to 5.1430/1467 from 5.1304/1357 previously.
The ringgit was traded mixed versus other Asean currencies.
It weakened versus the Thai baht to 13.2180/2335 compared to 13.2084/2292 at yesterday’s close and decreased against the Philippine peso at 8.54/8.56 from 8.53/8.54 yesterday.
The local note was unchanged versus the Singapore dollar at 3.5481/5512 compared to 3.5481/5521 and was flat vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah at 305.2/305.4 from 305.7/306.0 previously.
— Bernama
