KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Thursday, as the greenback climbed, after data showed that the US economy grew faster in the third quarter, amid rising concerns of an early US interest rate cut, said an analyst.
At 9.15am, the ringgit had fallen to 4.6525/6570 versus the greenback, compared with Wednesday’s close at 4.6495/6550.
It was reported that the country’s gross domestic product grew at an annualised pace of 5.2% in the third quarter, up from an initial estimate of 4.9%.
However, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said a sharper decline in the short-dated US Treasury yield suggested that anticipation for an interest rate cut in 2024 had gathered momentum.
“All this should bode well for the ringgit, especially when the prevailing ringgit against the US dollar level has pierced the previous support level of 4.6611.
“The next support level is located at 4.5778,” he told Bernama, adding that Federal Reserve (Fed) officials’ statements suggested that the Fed funds rate at 5.5% had reached its peak level.
In early trade on Thursday, the ringgit was traded lower versus a basket of major currencies.
It depreciated vis-a-vis the euro at 5.1080/1129 from 5.1014/1075 at Wednesday’s close, was down against the British pound at 5.9068/9125 from 5.8951/9021, and declined against the Japanese yen to 3.1641/1676 from 3.1513/1553 previously.
The local note was traded mixed against other Asean currencies.
It inched up vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 13.3439/3630 from 13.3484/3722, and appreciated versus the Philippine peso to 8.38/8.40 from 8.39/8.41 at Wednesday’s close.
However, the ringgit was marginally lower versus the Singapore dollar at 3.4923/4962 from 3.4909/4953, and edged down against the Indonesian rupiah to 302.1/302.6 from 301.9/302.5 previously.
