KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 —The ringgit extended its gains to close higher against the US dollar on Wednesday, supported by last-minute buying ahead of the release of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes later tonight.

At 6 pm, the ringgit inched up to 4.0565/0610 against the US dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.0575/0615.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama the markets will be observing the FOMC minutes, which will be published later tonight, to seek more clues on the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) stance on monetary policy. The latest FOMC meeting minutes will serve as guidance for market players to gauge the Fed’s appetite for a rate hike before the focus shifts to the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on Aug 27-29.

At the close, the local currency ended lower against a basket of major currencies.

It slid against the Japanese yen to 2.5498/5528 from 2.5420/5446 at yesterday’s close and slipped against the British pound to 5.4994/5055 from 5.4902/4956. The ringgit was also down against the euro at 4.7080/7132 from 4.6982/7028 previously.

The local note also traded mostly lower against regional currencies.

It was weaker against the Indonesian rupiah at 227.3/227.7 from 227.1/227.4 at yesterday’s close, and edged down against the Thai baht to 12.2686/2871 from 12.2657/2819/ It weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1778/1816 from 3.1756/1790 previously.

The ringgit was flat against the Philippine peso at 6.56/6.57 from 6.56/6.58 yesterday. — Bernama