THE Malaysian ringgit opened lower against the US dollar today, retreating slightly from its recent gains as investors assessed the US Federal Reserve’s latest cautious stance, which was seen as mildly dovish yet lacking strong directional clarity.
At 8am, the ringgit was quoted at 4.4245/4360 against the US dollar, down from Thursday’s close of 4.4215/4270.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd Head of Investment Research Mohd Sedek Jantan told Bernama today that despite some fluctuations in US Treasuries overnight, the ringgit remained without a clear direction.
“Although US Treasuries saw fluctuations yesterday, initially declining before rebounding, they ultimately closed unchanged, signalling that there were no immediate strong signals for capital flows likely to significantly affect the ringgit’s movement,” he told Bernama.
He noted that while Asian currencies, including the ringgit, saw brief gains against the US dollar following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) outcome, this effect was short-lived and lacked lasting impact.
"Looking ahead, uncertainty remains, especially with the US set to implement reciprocal tariffs on April 2. This situation leaves markets on edge, and if risk sentiment worsens, investors may turn to safe-haven assets like the US dollar, which could exert further pressure on the ringgit," he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, Chief Economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, predicted that Malaysia’s consumer price index (CPI) for February, due for release today, would show a modest year-on-year increase of 1.5%, slightly lower than the 1.7% recorded for the previous two months. “A benign inflation reading would signal that Bank Negara Malaysia is likely to maintain its current monetary policy stance, keeping the overnight policy rate steady in the near term,” he explained.
Dr. Mohd Afzanizam forecast that the ringgit would trade between 4.42 and 4.43 against the US dollar today.
Against a range of major currencies, the ringgit generally weakened this morning. It declined against the euro to 4.8028/8153 from 4.7973/8033 at Thursday’s close, fell against the British pound to 5.7368/7517 from 5.7276/7347, and slipped against the Japanese yen to 2.9773/9852 from 2.9728/9767.
The local currency also weakened against most ASEAN currencies. It eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.3150/3241 from 3.3117/3164, dropped against the Philippine peso to 7.73/7.76 from 7.72/7.74, and weakened against the Indonesian rupiah to 268.3/269.2 from 268.1/268.6.
However, the ringgit saw some strength against the Thai baht, appreciating to 13.1112/1538 from 13.1163/1388 at the previous close. – March 21, 2025
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