By Zufazlin Baharuddin
KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 (Bernama) — The ringgit staged a rebound this morning, opening higher against the US dollar as the prospect of a United States (US) rate cut remained intact, said an analyst.
At 8 am, the ringgit rose to 4.6695/6735 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.6725/6745.
US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Monday said the central bank will not wait until inflation hits two per cent to cut interest rates.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the potential rate cut should lend support to the ringgit in the near term and make the currency stable at the prevailing level.
However, he said, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump last weekend seems to have bolstered his odds of winning the US presidential election in November.
“The two- and 10-year US Treasury notes rose one and five basis points to 4.46 per cent and 4.23 per cent respectively amid concern that Trump’s populist measures would result in a higher US fiscal deficit,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher against other major currencies as well.
It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.9526/9555 from 2.9578/9593 at yesterday’s close, gained versus the British pound to 6.0554/0606 from 6.0658/0684 on Monday, and improved vis-a-vis the euro to 5.0884/0927 from 5.0991/1013 previously.
The ringgit traded mostly higher against ASEAN currencies.
It increased versus the Singapore dollar to 3.4751/4783 from 3.4810/4827 yesterday, rose against the Philippine peso to 7.98/7.99 from 7.99/7.99 on Monday, and appreciated versus the Indonesian rupiah to 288.7/289.1 from 288.9/289.2 previously.
However, the local note slid against the Thai baht to 12.9138/9313 from yesterday’s closing of 12.9007/9116.
— BERNAMA
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