RINGGIT SURGES AGAINST US DOLLAR AMID RENEWED GLOBAL RISK APPETITE

By Siti Radziah Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 (Bernama) -- The ringgit surged against the US dollar on Wednesday, riding the wave of broad greenback weakness and renewed global risk appetite, said an analyst.

At 6 pm, the domestic unit was significantly higher at 4.4270/4320 against the US dollar from 4.4635/4680 at Tuesday’s close.  

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes noted that the greenback is losing steam fast, as weaker US economic data fully offset any negative impact from tariffs, allowing traders to reprice growth expectations and shift into regional currencies such as the ringgit. 

“Adding to the bullish momentum, China’s National People’s Congress outcome was taken favourably. While not groundbreaking, Beijing’s decision to maintain its 5.0 per cent growth target provided a steady hand for Asian markets, reinforcing stability across regional assets,” he told Bernama.

Innes said Germany’s massive stimulus package has sent shockwaves across global markets, particularly in Asian export-heavy economies like Malaysia, which stood to benefit from increased European demand. 

“With the euro rallying hard and global forex sentiment shifting toward risk-on trades, the ringgit is seeing a significant uplift as traders position for capital inflows. 

“Adding to the upside, a potential rollback of some North American tariffs is also feeding into the broader market optimism. With the ringgit gaining traction, the US dollar wobbling, and global risk appetite heating up, today’s move in the ringgit may have legs beyond just a short-term pop,” he added.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against major currencies.

It was lower against the British pound to 5.6825/6889 from 5.6789/6846 on Tuesday, fell against the euro to 4.7409/7462 from 4.6916/6963 but rose against the Japanese yen to 2.9614/9647 from 2.9956/9989. 

The local currency traded mixed against ASEAN currencies.

It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.3126/3166 from 3.3203/3242 and went up against the Thai baht to 13.1545/1756 from 13.1853/2057.  

The ringgit was flat against the Indonesian rupiah at Tuesday’s close of 271.3/271.8 and almost unchanged against the Philippine peso to 7.72/7.73 from 7.72/7.74 yesterday.

-- BERNAMA