File pic — Bloomberg
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit continued its uptrend at the close today, rising by 250 basis points to a new high on the anticipation of an interest rate cut in the United States (US) next month.
At 6 pm, the ringgit advanced to 4.3470/3505 against the greenback from last Friday’s close of 4.3720/3775.
Earlier this morning, the domestic unit hit an almost 28-month high at 4.3515/3700 versus the greenback.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar has been depreciating, weakened by prospects of lower rates in the US.
"For now, it seems that the US/MYR is heading towards the immediate support level of RM4.3000,” he told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit was mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local currency slipped against the Japanese yen to 3.0188/0214 from 2.9914/9956 last Friday, but improved vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8565/8604 from 4.8604/8665 last week and appreciated against the British pound to 5.7324/7370 from 5.7391/7463 previously.
At the same time, the local note traded mixed against ASEAN currencies.
The ringgit gained against the Singapore dollar to 3.3367/3396 from 3.3410/3454 at Friday’s close and rose versus the Indonesian rupiah to 281.5/281.8 from 282.1/282.7 previously.
However, it fell vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.7891/8050 from 12.7575/7810 last week and was almost flat against the Philippines’ peso at 7.75/7.77 compared to 7.75/7.76 previously. - Bernama
