Bank Muamalat's Mohd Afzanizam said the market focus had shifted towards the US presidential election this November.
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended easier against the US dollar on the second trading day of the week as the market watched closely the development of US politics and ultimately the direction of US rate cuts and US tariffs on China.
At 6pm yesterday, the ringgit slipped further to 4.6745/6790 against the greenback from Monday’s closing of 4.6725/6745.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the market focus had shifted towards the US presidential election this November, which is showing concern on Donald Trump and his economic policies which would favour tax cuts and raising tariffs against China.
“Ultimately, it might have an impact on inflation and would obscure the market view for the US rate cuts. It is still fluid but US politics could intermittently steal the attention from the Federal Reserves (Fed).
The base case now is that the Fed is on track to cut rates as inflation has come down and there are signs of a cooling labour market,” he said. — Bernama
