KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 26): The ringgit rebounded against the US dollar in early trade Monday as the greenback fell slightly, but remained supported amid anticipation the Federal Reserve will continue to keep its monetary policy stance restrictive.
At 9am, the ringgit appreciated to 4.7725/7775 versus the greenback compared with Friday’s close of 4.7750/7795.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid expects the ringgit to remain steady at around RM4.77 on Monday with sentiment still weak.
He said several Fed officials had last week indicated concern over premature easing in light of the elevated levels of inflation rate.
“The US dollar seems to be in a sweet spot given the robust US economy despite having to contend with higher rates.
“This had made it stand out from the rest of the G7 pack, leading to higher demand for the US dollar. It is quite tricky as the effect of past monetary policy actions would take some time to have a considerable impact,” he said.
At home, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local currency was higher vis-a-vis the British pound to 6.0425/0488 from 6.0437/0494 at Friday’s close, rose versus the euro to 5.1619/1673 from 5.1656/1705 but was lower against the Japanese yen at 3.1736/1772 from 3.1677/1709.
At the same time, the ringgit was mixed against other Asean currencies.
It advanced versus the Philippine peso at 8.53/8.54 from 8.54/8.55 and was higher vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 305.9/306.4 from 306.1/306.5 on Friday but was slightly weaker against the Singapore dollar to 3.5494/5534 from 3.5489/5525 and depreciated against the Thai baht at 13.2584/2782 compared with 13.2198/2381.
