KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — The ringgit ended the week easier against the greenback, alongside regional currencies, as the United States (US) producer price index (PPI) data came in higher than expected, pushing back expectations of an interest rate cut in the United States in June.
At 6pm, the ringgit slid to 4.7050/7095 against the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.6845/6878.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama the Korean won, which depreciated by 0.91 per cent, led the regional decline, followed by the ringgit, the Philippine peso, and the Indonesian rupiah, which lost 0.35, 0.29, and 0.24 per cent, respectively.
The core February US PPI held steady with a 2.0 per cent year-over-year increase, surpassing expectations of 1.9 per cent. On a monthly basis, the report indicated a 0.3 per cent uptick compared to the previous 0.5 per cent, outperforming the anticipated 0.2 per cent forecast.
He added the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting from March 19 to March 20 next week would be the main event as markets look for a clearer indication of the US interest rate outlook.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said the hotter-than-expected February PPI print also resulted in higher US Treasury yields, prompting markets to scale back the likelihood of the US Federal Reserve cutting interest rates in June.
“Consequently, Asian foreign exchange markets traded weaker against the US dollar. This sentiment was further compounded by weaker used home sales in China, underscoring persistent property concerns,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
It slightly increased vis-à-vis the Japanese yen to 3.1637/1669 from 3.1691/1721 on Thursday and rose against the British pound to 6.0003/0060 from 6.0021/0072 yesterday. However, it weakened versus the euro to 5.1275/1324 from 5.1243/1287 previously.
The ringgit traded lower against other Asean currencies.
It dropped versus the Thai baht to 13.1480/1661 from 13.1470/1641 at Thursday’s close and depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.5183/5219 from 3.5160/5193 previously.
The local currency slid against the Philippines peso to 8.47/8.48 compared with 8.45/8.46 yesterday and edged lower against the Indonesian rupiah to 301.5/302.0 from 300.5/301.0 at Thursday’s close.
— Bernama
