KUALA LUMPUR (March 8): The ringgit extended its uptrend to end the week firmer against the US dollar on Friday, lifted by improved sentiment amid hopes for easier global monetary policies this year, an economist said.
At 6pm, the ringgit bounced to 4.6815/6855 against the greenback, compared with Thursday’s close of 4.7025/7080.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the ringgit staged a commendable performance on Friday following the latest remarks from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman Jerome Powell about the outlook for US interest rates.
“The Fed chairman continued to suggest that there is still hope for a rate cut to happen in the United States this year,” he told Bernama.
In the meantime, he said the better-than-expected China exports data, which grew 7.1% during the January-February period against market estimates of 1.5%, also supported the ringgit.
“It is a good start considering that the Chinese government is projecting its gross domestic product (GDP) growth to be in the region of 5.0% this year,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local currency eased against the British pound to 6.0050/0101from 5.9952/6.0022 on Thursday and slipped vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.1821/1850 from 3.1778/1817 but rose versus the euro to 5.1188/1231 from 5.1257/1317 previously.
The ringgit traded mixed against other Asean currencies.
It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.5160/5192 from Thursday’s close of 3.5201/5247 and improved vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 300.2/300.6 from 300.3/300.8.
The local unit was almost flat versus the Thai baht at 13.2134/2321 versus 13.2130/2340 at Thursday’s close and unchanged against the Philippine peso at 8.42/8.43.
