RINGGIT EXTENDS RALLY AGAINST US DOLLAR AT CLOSE

By Siti Radziah Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Bernama) -- The ringgit extended its rally today to close on the front foot against the US dollar, powered by a more dovish US Federal Reserve (Fed) outlook and Bank Negara Malaysia’s decision to hold rates steady, said an analyst. 

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes noted that this encouraged a narrowing in interest rate differentials, prompting exporters to offload more US dollar ahead of the US non-farm payrolls release later tonight.

At 6 pm, the ringgit rose to 4.4110/4145 against the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.4230/4270. 

“The market lean is clearly for a downside miss, which could trigger further US dollar weakness next week, keeping the ringgit in the driver’s seat. If non-farm payrolls underwhelm and reinforce the Fed’s pivot toward deeper rate cuts, expect the ringgit momentum trade to stay in play,” Innes told Bernama.

He added that for now, ringgit bulls have the upper hand, with the local unit capitalising on domestic stability and external tailwinds.

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

It fell versus the British pound to 5.7070/7115 from 5.6964/7015 at Thursday’s close and dropped against the euro to 4.7903/7941 from 4.7773/7816 yesterday, but it edged up vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.9909/9935 from 2.9940/9969 previously.  

The local currency performed mixed against ASEAN currencies.

It was slightly up against the Singapore dollar to 3.3185/3214 from 3.3186/3218 yesterday but eased vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 13.1124/1290 from 13.0939/1124 previously.    

The ringgit was flat versus the Indonesian rupiah at 270.6/271.0 and was also unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.71/7.73. 

-- BERNAMA