RINGGIT ENDS FLAT AGAINST US DOLLAR AHEAD OF FOMC MEETING NEXT WEEK

By Zufazlin Baharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 (Bernama) – The ringgit ended flat against the US dollar today as traders adopted a wait-and-see approach ahead of the United States (US) Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting next week.

At 6 pm, the ringgit stood at 4.1300/1365 versus the greenback compared to last Friday’s close of 4.1300/1350.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said traders will also monitor US economic data, especially the US ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for November tonight, for further guidance on market direction.

“The consensus estimate stands at 49.0 points compared to 48.7 in October. The ISM Index for the manufacturing sector has been hovering below the 50-point demarcation line for eight straight months, suggesting that manufacturers have remained pessimistic for quite sometime,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the ringgit trended lower against major currencies.

It slid versus the British pound to 5.4644/4730 from 5.4528/4594 at last Friday’s close, weakened against the euro to 4.7995/8070 from 4.7768/7825 previously, and declined vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.6594/6637 from 2.6420/6456.

The local note also fell against ASEAN currencies.

It slipped versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1880/1932 from 3.1813/1857 at the end of last week and dropped against the Indonesian rupiah to 247.8/248.3 from 247.6/248.0.

The ringgit also depreciated vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.9026/9290 from 12.8245/8472 previously and eased against the Philippine peso to 7.05/7.07 from 7.04/7.06.

-- BERNAMA