KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit is likely to stay at the current level against the US dollar, at 4.60 to 4.61, as monetary policy action will continue to take centre stage with a series of United States Federal Reserve (Fed) officials sharing their thoughts with the public.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said at the same time, a sense of anxiety over global growth prospects is building up.
“This is being reflected in the consensus forecast for Malaysia’s exports, which is anticipated to decline by 11.7% in June after falling at a steep rate of 17.4% in May. It seems that risk-off mode will prevail next week, leading to a tight range for the US dollar/ringgit pair, possibly around 4.60 to 4.61," he said.
Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the ringgit could appreciate against the greenback next week as more ongoing stimulus is expected from China’s policymakers, directed at the property market and youth unemployment, which should further boost sentiment.
“The US dollar/ringgit could test the 4,60-level next week, so my call for next week is skewed slightly bullish from 4.6050 to 4.6250,” he added.
The ringgit was weaker against the US dollar this week as market participants remained on the sidelines to await the decision from the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting on June 13 and 14.
The US central bank has maintained its policy rate in the 5.00% to 5.25% range.
For the week just ended, the local note was mostly lower versus a basket of major currencies over the trading days.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit eased against the US dollar to 4.6130/6165 from 4.6115/6160 a week earlier.
The local currency advanced against the Japanese yen to 3.2721/2748 from 3.3022/3059 on the previous Friday, depreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.9014/9059 from 5.7819/7875 last week, and declined versus the euro to 5.0503/0541 from 4.9611/9659 previously.
Similarly, the ringgit also traded lower against its Asean peers.
It improved against the Indonesian rupiah to 308.7/309.1 from 310.6/311.2 previously but went down against the Singapore dollar to 3.4513/4542 from 3.4294/4330 a week earlier.
The domestic unit weakened versus the Thai baht to 13.2974/3140 against 13.3196/3376 last week and eased vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 8.26/8.27 from 8.23/8.24 on Friday last week. – Bernama, June 17, 2023
