Ringgit Does Poorly Against A Weakened Greenback

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KUALA LUMPUR: Investors took advantage of a weaker US dollar in early trade today, leading to a poor start for the ringgit.
At 9.30am, the local note inched down to 4.4220/4.4260 versus the greenback compared with yesterday’s closing rate of 4.4160/4.4200.
In a note today, ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the US dollar had declined following the slight increase in interest rates in the US.
“Normally a currency rises together with the interest rate of the issuing country. However, the latest hike in the US was widely expected and comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials seem to be hinting at a monetary policy that is not as tight (going forward),” he told Bernama.
“Some analysts are already anticipating a pause in rate hikes for a while. Additionally, the greenback was also weighed down by the new home sales data for February, which came in lower than expected,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local note strengthened vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7864/4.7907 from 4.8055/4.8098 at yesterday’s close and appreciated versus the British pound to 5.4254/5.4303 from 5.4379/5.4428 yesterday, but fell against the Japanese yen to 3.3950/3.3986 from 3.3679/3.3712 previously.
At the same time, the ringgit was traded lower against its Asean peers.
The local currency slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 288.10/288.50 from 287.70/288.10 at yesterday’s close and weakened versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3293/3.3328 from 3.3278/3.3313 previously.
The local note also dropped against the Thai baht to 12.9765/12.9947 from 12.9562/12.9741 yesterday and declined versus the Philippine peso to 8.14/8.15 from 8.13/8.14 previously. - FMT

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