RINGGIT BREACHES 4.04 LEVEL AGAINST US DOLLAR AFTER OPR MAINTAINED AT 2.75 PCT

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 (Bernama) -- The ringgit closed firmer against the US dollar on Thursday, supported by improved market sentiment following Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to maintain the overnight policy rate (OPR).

Earlier today, the Malaysian central bank, during its first  Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of 2026, decided to maintain the OPR at 2.75 per cent.

At 6 pm, the local currency rose to 4.0370/0415 against the greenback from 4.0445/0495 at Wednesday’s close.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that “the positive assessment by the BNM on the state of the economy after announcing their decision to keep the OPR steady at 2.75 per cent also contributed positively to the ringgit strength.”

“It appears that the ringgit could break the 4.00 level (against the greenback) at some point in the near future should the positive sentiment continue,” he told Bernama. 

The local note also ended mostly higher versus other major currencies.

It appreciated versus the Japanese yen to 2.5440/5469 from 2.5598/5631 on Wednesday, gained versus the euro to 4.7205/7257 from 4.7337/7395, but it inched down vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.4273/4334 from 5.4237/4304 yesterday.

The ringgit traded was mixed against ASEAN currencies.

It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1441/1478 from 3.1502/1543 on Wednesday, and strengthened versus the Thai baht to 12.8587/8792 from 13.0086/0301.

The local note remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.82/6.83, but eased slightly vis-à-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 238.9/239.3 from 238.7/239.3.

-- BERNAMA