KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 — The ringgit continued its retreat against the United States (US) dollar on profit-taking after recent gains to close lower on Friday.
At 6pm, the local note eased to 4.2420/2480 against the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.2340/2385.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said mixed signals from the US Federal Reserve (US Fed) have also affected market sentiment, amid growing expectations for an interest rate cut.
He noted that US Fed officials remained divided on the timing and necessity for such a move.
“Some believe inflation could remain persistent, justifying the need to maintain a restrictive monetary policy. Others, however, feel that a rate cut should happen sooner to stabilise growth momentum,” Afzanizam told Bernama.
He also pointed out that the upcoming release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for July, scheduled for next Tuesday, is likely to intensify the debate among US Fed members over the direction of interest rates.
“The consensus estimates have pegged the inflation rate at 2.8 per cent, which is higher than 2.7 per cent in the prior month. As such, we will continue to see debate among US Fed members on the direction of interest rates,” Afzanizam said.
At the close, the ringgit ended mostly higher against major currencies.
It edged up against the yen to 2.8720/8763 from 2.8732/8765 at the close on Thursday, and improved against the euro to 4.9381/9451 from 4.9411/9463. However, it dropped versus the British pound to 5.7034/7114 from 5.6596/6656.
The ringgit trended lower against regional peers.
It dropped against the Singapore dollar to 3.3014/3064 from 3.2973/3013, declined against the Thai baht to 13.1173/1419 from 13.0954/1146, and was lower against the Indonesian rupiah at 260.3/260.8 from 259.9/260.3 previously. It slipped against the Philippine peso to 7.43/7.44 from 7.42/7.44.
