KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — The ringgit continued its uptrend to end higher against the US dollar today for the fifth consecutive day, brought about by positive sentiment surrounding the local market, dealers said.
At 6pm, the local note strengthened to 4.1590/1610 versus the greenback from yesterday’s closing of 4.1630/1660.
ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the US dollar continued to lose ground against the ringgit as traders were jittery ahead of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data to be released later today which was likely to trigger a decision by the Federal Reserve on when to start the tapering process.
“If the core CPI reading comes in higher than expected, it could mean higher inflation than anticipated and therefore a possible earlier tightening of US monetary policy, which could make the US dollar appreciate in the coming days,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Hong Leong Research, in a note, said the reopening of the interstate borders within Malaysia alongside the rallies in crude oil and crude palm oil (CPO) prices continued to offer support to the local currency.
“(However,) the upside may be capped by the pre-Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes and US CPI jitters today, which may be potential swing factors in the forex space this week,” it added.
At the close, the ringgit was traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.
It depreciated against the British pound to 5.6675/6702 from yesterday’s close of 5.6621/6662 and slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.0739/0758 compared with 3.0703/0727 yesterday.
The local note appreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8074/8097 from 4.8116/8151 yesterday and rose versus the Japanese yen to 3.6611/6632 from 3.6750/6779 previously. — Bernama
