KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — The ringgit closed unchanged against the US dollar today, as investors awaited new market direction following the release of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Annual Report 2018 today, said a dealer.

At 6pm, the local unit stood at 4.0700/0750 from Tuesday’s close of 4.0700/0730.

Among the highlights of the report is BNM’s expectation that the Malaysian economy will remain on a steady growth path, expanding between 4.3 per cent and 4.8 per cent in 2019 anchored by private sector activity, stable income and employment growth, and sustained capacity expansion by businesses.

“Besides that, the ringgit and other emerging Asian currencies were pressured by the firmer US dollar, which is also a safe haven for investors, in line with the declining sentiment on slower global growth and rising Brexit uncertainty.

Advertisement

“However, the higher oil price helped cushion the pressure on the ringgit with the benchmark Brent crude trading 0.04 per cent better at US$67.46 per barrel at 4.16am Central Standard Time (CST),” she told Bernama.

Moving forward, the dealer said market players were expected to shift their focus on the progress of the upcoming US-China trade negotiation scheduled tomorrow and Friday in Beijing.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of other major currencies.

Advertisement

It declined against the British pound to 5.3744/3819 from yesterday’s closing of 5.3740/3784, but rose versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0068/0107 from 3.0130/0164.

The local currency strengthened against the Japanese yen to 3.6853/6901 from 3.6869/6906 and improved versus the euro at 4.5910/5970 from 4.6060/6098 yesterday. — Bernama