Thailand
Malaysia: Ringgit ends marginally higher against US dollar
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — The ringgit closed marginally higher against the US dollar today, albeit moving in a tight range.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said this was in tandem with the weak dollar with the US dollar index falling slightly to below 94 points.
At 6pm, the local note was slightly better versus the greenback at 4.1505/1513 from 4.1530/1555 at yesterday’s close.
He said the key data points this week would be on the Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index in the US.
“If the inflation continues to stay elevated, it may increase the likelihood of higher interest rate in the US next year as the Federal Reserve may want to anchor the inflation expectation. This would result in better support for the US dollar in the near term,” he told Bernama.
Mohd Afzanizam said at the moment, the resistance and support level for the dollar versus the local note stands at RM4.1862 and RM4.1498 respectively.
In light of improving economic outlook, the ringgit could trade near to its support level.
“We shall see the upcoming announcement on the third quarter of 2021 (Q3 2021) gross domestic product (GDP) this Friday.
“The Q3 2021 GDP print could in come lower compared to the double-digit growth we saw in the preceding quarter. Hence, the ringgit could stay soft for now,” he added.
At the close, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local note slipped vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6326/6332 from 5.5991/6024 at yesterday’s close and fell against the Singapore dollar at 3.0849/0852 from 3.0765/0786.
It also depreciated against the euro to 4.8112/8133 from 4.8000/8029 and declined against the Japanese yen to 3.6677/6694 from 3.6606/6628 previously. — Bernama