KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — The ringgit ended the week easier against the US dollar on a lack of buying momentum, in line with the weaker sentiment of other Asian currencies, analysts said.
At 6pm, the local note depreciated to 4.4335/4370 versus the greenback compared to yesterday’s close of 4.4315/4365.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said the ringgit was only marginally weaker and this could be due to an uptick in oil prices.
At press time, the benchmark Brent crude oil rose 1.08 per cent to US$83.16 (RM368.86) per barrel.
Innes said the investor focus will on tonight’s US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price inflation data. “If the PCE comes in higher than expected, it will set up a stronger US dollar next week,” he told Bernama.
On the local front, he noted that Malaysia unveiled a scaled-back spending budget that could work negatively for the ringgit from a growth perspective but might help from a prudent fiscal perspective.
“So I think it is a bit of a trade-off,” he added.
The government has estimated that operating expenditure in 2023 will decline by 1.2 per cent to RM289.1 billion from RM292.7 billion in 2022, primarily due to lower subsidy allocations when it tabled this year’s budget.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the Finance Minister, presented Budget 2023 in parliament today. However, the Budget 2023 allocation was revised upward to RM388.1 billion from the RM372.3 billion budget in October 2022.
In the meantime, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local unit strengthened against the Japanese yen to 3.2804/2833 from 3.2855/2895 yesterday, and rose versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2970/3001 from 3.2990/3032, previously.
It gained against the euro at 4.6933/6970 from 4.6943/6996 and appreciated versus the British pound to 5.3308/3350 from 5.3311/3371 at Thursday’s close. — Bernama
