KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — The ringgit eased against the US dollar on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve indicated that the US economy will continually improve, boosting the greenback.
However, the positive vibe in the local bond market is cushioning the ringgit, and it was traded mostly higher versus other major currencies at the opening bell today.
At 9.01am, the local unit stood at 4.1350/1410 against the US dollar from 4.1300/1330 at Wednesday’s close.
The Fed has on Wednesday released minutes from its March meeting, saying that its accommodative policy was in place.
The meeting summary indicated that while officials saw the economy gaining substantially, they see much more progress needed before ultra-easy policy changes.
Meanwhile, Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said despite a positive vibe in the local bond market, the ringgit searches for fresh catalysts while getting “ping-ponged” between broader US dollar moves in G-10 and whipsawing oil prices.
The ringgit was higher against the Singapore dollar at 3.0817/0873 from 3.0828/0857 yesterday but slipped versus the yen to 3.7666/7731 from 3.7607/7645.
Vis-a-vis the British pound, the local note rose to 5.6798/6885 from 5.7072/7122 and improved to 4.9058/9133 from 4.9077/9125 compared with the euro.
— Bernama
