KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit is expected to trade in cautious mode with an upward bias against the US dollar this week ahead of a decision by the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) on its monetary policy.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar/ringgit might move cautiously as the Fed is expected to be guarded in its assessment at the upcoming the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on June 13-14.
“So, tonight’s Non-farm Payrolls’ (NFP) announcement for May, which is anticipated to slow to 195,000 jobs based on consensus estimates, is likely to set the tone for next week as we progress to the FOMC meeting dates,” he told Bernama.
The immediate resistance level for the ringgit is currently at RM4.5491, he added.
Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes noted that the ringgit could trade a bit stronger due to the market pricing in a Fed pause in June.
“So I’m looking at 4.5675 versus 4.5875 assuming no top side surprise on NFP,” he said.
Meanwhile, the local note was mixed versus a basket of major currencies over the six-day span.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit was higher against the US dollar at 4.5745/5785 compared with 4.5970/6035 previously.
The local note went up vis-a-vis the euro to 4.9254/9297 from 4.9340/9409 the previous week.
It was almost flat against the Japanese yen at 3.2957/2989 from 3.2918/2967 previously and weakened against the British pound to 5.7323/7373 from the previous Friday’s 5.6819/6899.
The ringgit also traded mostly higher against its ASEAN peers.
It rose against the Thai baht to 13.2402/2591 from 13.2539/2784, appreciated against the Indonesian rupiah to 305.0/305.5 from 307.3/307.9 the previous week and improved vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 8.18/8.19 from 8.24/8.25 previously. The ringgit, however, was lower versus the Singapore dollar at 3.4026/4059 from 3.4012/4062 at the end of the preceding week. – BERNAMA
