KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Thursday, as the greenback strengthened following the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) decision to cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points.
At 8 am, the local note eased to 4.1943/1988 from Wednesday’s close of 4.1860/1900.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said there may be profit-taking in emerging market currencies, including the ringgit, after the US Dollar Index gained 0.25 per cent to 96.873 points.
He noted that the ringgit appreciated 0.35 per cent to close at RM4.1880 against the US dollar on Wednesday.
“The US dollar-ringgit is likely to hover between RM4.19 and RM4.20 as the Fed has signalled that its rate cuts will be gradual,” he told Bernama.
The Fed lowered its benchmark interest rate at the September meeting on Wednesday, its first cut since December 2024, and indicated that further reductions are likely before year-end.
At the opening, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies except for the Japanese yen.
It strengthened against the yen at 2.8522/8585 from 2.8607/8636 at Wednesday’s close, but weakened to 5.7156/7217 against the British pound from 5.7131/7185 and was slightly lower vis-a-vis the euro to 4.9589/9642 from 4.9583/9631 previously.
Against ASEAN currencies, the local note was mostly lower except for the Thai baht.
It strengthened against the Thai baht at 13.1826/2050 from 13.1892/2081 yesterday. It fell to 3.2822/2860 against the Singapore dollar from 3.2793/2827, depreciated to 255.1/255.5 versus the Indonesian rupiah from 254.6/255.0 and slipped against the Philippine peso at 7.37/7.38 compared with Friday’s 7.36/7.37.