THE ringgit is expected to trade within a narrow range next week as global investors await crucial economic indicators from the United States and the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy meeting, an economist has said.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the local currency is likely to move between RM3.94 and RM3.96 against the US dollar, reflecting cautious market sentiment.
He said attention will be centred on the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for April 28 and 29, which is expected to provide further signals on the future direction of monetary policy.
He noted that most economists anticipate the US Federal Funds Rate to remain unchanged at 3.75 per cent.
While the decision itself has largely been priced in by markets, he said investors will be closely analysing the Fed’s forward-looking assessment for indications of future policy direction.
“This would mean data points such as the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, ISM manufacturing index for the manufacturing sector, as well as Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation, will also be closely monitored as the data series will be released next week,” he told Bernama.
“As such, expect dollar-ringgit to maintain its narrow range bias as market participants will remain cautious next week,” he added.
On Friday, the ringgit weakened slightly against the US dollar, closing at 3.9630/9670 compared with 3.9505/9545 in the previous week.
Despite the softer performance against the greenback, the local currency strengthened against several major currencies over the week, including the British pound, euro and Japanese yen.
It rose to 5.3429/3483 against the pound from 5.3454/3508 previously, appreciated to 4.6312/6358 versus the euro from 4.6588/6635, and strengthened to 2.4808/4834 against the yen from 2.4838/4865.
Against regional currencies, the ringgit mostly traded higher, edging up against the Singapore dollar to 3.1009/1043 from 3.1053/1086, strengthening against the Thai baht to 12.2183/2363 from 12.3084/3274, and rising against the Philippine peso to 6.52/6.53 from 6.58/6.59.
However, it slipped slightly against the Indonesian rupiah to 230.0/230.3 from 229.8/230.1. - April 25, 2026
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