THE ringgit ended the week on a firmer footing, strengthening past the 4.20 level against the US dollar on Friday, buoyed by growing market expectations of an imminent interest rate cut by the United States Federal Reserve.
At 6pm, the local note appreciated to 4.1975/2080 against the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.2185/2240.
Bernama reported Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd’s Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, attributed the ringgit’s rebound to anticipation surrounding the US Federal Reserve’s upcoming monetary policy decision.
“The US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members will meet on September 16–17 and are expected to deliver a 25 basis points (bps) cut,” he said.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said the ringgit was supported by weakness in the US dollar following disappointing labour market signals.
“Markets shrugged off the 0.3 per cent US inflation uptick (for August) and instead zeroed in on the deteriorating jobs data. A jump in (US) jobless claims (last week) pushed interest rate-cut expectations higher, with traders now pricing in 72 bps of Fed easing for the rest of 2025, up from 68 bps before the release,” he said.
At the close, the ringgit was also stronger against a basket of major currencies. It gained against the euro at 4.9203/9326 from 4.9293/9357, rose versus the Japanese yen to 2.8373/8446 from 2.8509/8548, and advanced against the British pound to 5.6864/7006 from 5.6954/7028.
The local note also posted gains against most ASEAN currencies. It edged up versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2719/2803 from 3.2829/2874, strengthened against the Thai baht to 13.2317/2703 from 13.2432/2663, and rose against the Philippine peso to 7.35/7.37 from 7.37/7.39.
However, the ringgit eased slightly vis-à-vis the Indonesian rupiah, closing at 256.3/257.0 from 256.2/256.7. - September 13, 2025
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