KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — The ringgit ended on a positive note versus the US dollar today, lifted by the stable inflation data.
At 6pm, the local note rose to 4.1840/1870 versus the greenback from 4.1880/1910 at yesterday’s close.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth for December 2021 was lower at 3.2 per cent compared to November 2021’s 3.3 per cent.
“This is pretty much stable (but) certainly higher compared to the long term average of 2.4 per cent,’’ he noted.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said the rise in food and fuels prices contributed to the uptrend. In a statement today, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said December’s figure also surpassed the average inflation from 2011 to 2021 of 1.9 per cent.
For the fourth quarter of 2021, CPI rose 3.2 per cent year-on-year and 1.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
Overall, the local note was traded mostly firmer against a basket of other major currencies.
The ringgit went up versus the euro to 4.7434/7468 from 4.7521/7555 at Thursday’s close and rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1096/1121 from 3.1103/1130.
It appreciated against the British pound to 5.6764/6805 from 5.7066/7107 yesterday but dropped against the Japanese yen to 3.6715/6741 from 3.6640/6670. — Bernama
