KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit rebounded to open higher against the US dollar today after the release of the United States (US) ISM manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data which came in lower than expected at 46.3 points in March, said an economist.
At 9am, the local note rose to 4.4030/4075 versus the US dollar compared to yesterday’s closing rate of 4.4175/4195.
Earlier, the US ISM data was expected to be slightly lower at 47.5 points in March based on consensus estimates compared to 47.7 points in February.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that more importantly are the new orders and employment indexes which fell further to 44.3 (February: 47.0) and 46.9 (February: 49.1) respectively during March.
“This indicates that business sentiment was weaker for the fifth consecutive month.
“Such an outturn would bolster the case that the US Federal Reserve is likely to switch their stand after delivering 475 basis points hike in Fed fund rate,” he told Bernama.
Afzanizam said as such, the US dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.44% to 102.059 points.
“This would mean the ringgit could appreciate against the greenback like other currencies.
“The US dollar could range between RM4.40 and RM4.41 today,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It fell versus the British pound to 5.4637/4693 from 5.4552/4576 at yesterday’s close, eased marginally vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7988/8037 from 4.7930/7952 and depreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.3210/3247 compared with 3.3127/3145 previously.
The ringgit was traded mostly higher against Asean currencies.
It inched up versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3173/3212 from 3.3182/3199 at yesterday’s close, appreciated vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 8.06/8.08 from 8.07/8.07 and gained versus the Indonesian rupiah to 294.00/294.50 from 295.00/295.30 previously.
However, the local note weakened against the Thai baht to 12.8607/8799 from 12.8419/8537 at Monday’s close. – Bernama, April 4, 2023
