RINGGIT OPENS MARGINALLY HIGHER AGAINST GREENBACK

By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- The ringgit opened marginally higher against the US dollar on Thursday, extending its recent gains as improved regional sentiment supported emerging Asian currencies.

At 8 am, the ringgit was quoted at 4.1475/1590 to the greenback, compared with Wednesday’s close of 4.1480/1530.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the currency’s mild uptick followed renewed uncertainty in the United States after unexpected delays in the release of key economic data.

He said the US dollar index climbed 0.65 per cent to 100.202 after the US Bureau of Labour Statistics announced it would postpone the publication of October’s employment report to December 16.

“Such a date means the US Federal Reserve is still ‘flying blind’, suggesting it may not cut interest rates when it meets on December 9 and 10, 2025.

“In addition, the Federal Open Market Committee’s October minutes indicated members were generally inclined to keep rates steady for the rest of 2025,” he told Bernama.

Back home, Mohd Afzanizam said the ringgit had already shown resilience in the previous session, closing 0.31 per cent firmer at 4.1505 against the US dollar, supported by profit-taking on the greenback.

“Given the latest developments, the USD-MYR pair could trade between 4.15 and 4.17 today as participants may seek to lock in short-term gains ahead of upcoming US data releases,” he added.

In early trade, the ringgit strengthened against a basket of major currencies.

It appreciated against the yen to 2.6416/6490 from 2.6598/6632 at Wednesday’s close, firmed versus the euro to 4.7858/7991 from 4.8013/8071, and advanced against the British pound to 5.4166/4317 from 5.4451/4516.

The ringgit traded mixed against ASEAN currencies.

It rose against the Thai baht to 12.7741/8182 from 12.7977/8191 at Wednesday’s close, and improved versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1755/1845 from 3.1810/1851.

The local note was little changed against the Indonesian rupiah at 248.2/249.0 from 248.2/248.6, and hovered around 7.04/7.06 against the Philippine peso compared with 7.04/7.05 previously.

-- BERNAMA