KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against major currencies, except the US dollar this morning, said an analyst.
At 9 am, the local note was marginally lower at 4.6535/6570 against the greenback from 4.6435/6485 at Thursday’s close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said technically, the ringgit has been in the oversold position for quite some time.
“Therefore, some correction can be expected. For example, the ringgit could intermittently strengthen especially when data points reveal some weakness in the global economy.
“The latest global purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector in July was at 48.7 points, which is below than 50-point demarcation line, showing that more businesses around the globe have become pessimistic,” he told Bernama.
At the same time, he noted that investors are waiting for United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) chair, Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium tonight which is expected to shed more light on the US monetary policy direction.
“It does feel that the Fed is unlikely to provide a clear message despite data points hinting that a shift in monetary policy stance is quite possible.
“On that note, the ringgit should linger around RM4.64-RM4.65 versus the US dollar,” he said.
During the opening session, the local note improved against the Japanese yen to 3.1865/1891 from 3.1932/1968 at yesterday’s close, increased versus the euro to 5.0230/0268 from 5.0373/0427 and edged up against the British pound to 5.8578/8622 from 5.8829/8892 previously.
Conversely, the local note traded lower against other Asean currencies, but was almost flat against the Singapore dollar at 3.4298/4326 from 3.4292/4332 at Thursday’s close.
It depreciated vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 13.2749/2905 from 13.2645/2848 at the close yesterday, weakened against the Indonesian rupiah to 305.1/305.5 from 304.5/305.0 previously and decreased against the Philippines’ peso to 8.19/8.21 from 8.17/8.19 on Thursday.
US dollar surges
The US dollar gained in late trading on Thursday, as data showed that applications for unemployment benefits fell again last week, reported Xinhua.
The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits fell last week by 10,000 to 230,000 for the week ending Aug. 19, the US LaboUr Department reported Thursday.
The US dollar surged after the release of the data. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.55 per cent to 103.9863 in late trading.
Earlier comments from former St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard confirmed that reacceleration could put upward pressure on inflation, thus making it impossible for the Fed to start cutting rates anytime soon.
In addition, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index released on Thursday rose to 0.12 in July from -0.33 in June. A reading above zero suggests economic activity grew ahead of its average historical trend.
Meanwhile, the Jackson Hole Symposium was underway, and investors eagerly awaited the first speeches from leading central bankers of the world’s most developed countries, especially Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech scheduled for Friday morning.
In late New York trading, the euro decreased to US$1.0809 from US$1.0858s in the previous session, and the British pound fell to US$1.2607 from US$1.2716.
The US dollar bought 145.8610 Japanese yen, higher than 144.7830 Japanese yen of the previous session.
The US dollar increased to 0.8845 Swiss francs from 0.8778 Swiss francs, and it increased to 1.3575 Canadian dollars from 1.3542 Canadian dollars. The US dollar rose to 10.9889 Swedish krona from 10.9193 Swedish krona.
Short-terms rates remain stable
Short-term rates are expected to remain stable today on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) operations to absorb surplus liquidity from the financial system.
Liquidity is estimated at RM42.56 billion in the conventional system and RM22.34 billion in Islamic funds.
Today, the central bank will conduct a RM1 billion conventional money market tender for seven days and a RM500 million Qard tender for seven days.
It will also conduct two reverse repo tenders, namely a RM1.5 billion tender for 32 days and a RM500 million tender for 91 days.
BNM also announced the opening of a RM3 billion Bank Negara Interbank Bills (BNIB) tender for 31 days, to be issued on Aug 29, 2023.
At the same time, the central bank also announced the availability of reverse repo, sale and buy-back agreements, as well as Collateralised Commodity Murabahah facilities for tenors of one to three months.
At 4 pm, it will conduct up to RM43.6 billion conventional overnight tender and RM21.8 billion for Murabahah overnight tender.
Foreign exchange rates
Following are the midday Malaysian foreign exchange for major currencies today:
1 USD 4.6500/4.6530
100 yen 3.1830/3.1852
1 pound 5.8432/5.8470
1 euro 5.0127/5.0159
1 SGD 3.4254/4279
100 baht 13.2129/13.2255
1 mln rupia 304.0/304.3
100 pesos 8.20/8.21
Exchange rates issued By Malayan Banking Bhd
| SELLING TT/OD | BUYING TT | BUYING OD | |
| 1 US Dollar | 4.7180 | 4.5850 | 4.5655 |
| 1 Australian Dollar | 3.0440 | 2.9240 | 2.9330 |
| 1 Brunei Dollar | 3.4770 | 3.3770 | 3.3760 |
| 1 Canadian Dollar | 3.4700 | 3.3790 | 3.3770 |
| 1 Euro | 5.1040 | 4.9420 | 4.9450 |
| 1 New Zealand Dollar | 2.8040 | 2.7030 | 2.7070 |
| 1 Papua N Guinea Kina | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1 Singapore Dollar | 3.4770 | 3.3770 | 3.3760 |
| 1 Sterling Pound | 5.9520 | 5.7670 | 5.7890 |
| 1 Swiss Franc | 5.3160 | 5.1950 | 5.2120 |
| 100 UAE Dirham | 130.0400 | 123.3400 | 122.8900 |
| 100 Bangladesh Taka | 4.4030 | 4.1170 | 3.9080 |
| 100 Chinese Renminbi | 65.2900 | 62.5600 | N/A |
| 100 Danish Krone | 70.1900 | 64.6200 | 64.7300 |
| 100 Hongkong Dollar | 60.8400 | 57.8400 | 57.5300 |
| 100 Indian Rupee | 5.8100 | 5.4600 | 5.2500 |
| 100 Indonesian Rupiah | 0.0320 | 0.0290 | 0.0239 |
| 100 Japanese Yen | 3.2360 | 3.1350 | 3.1400 |
| 100 New Taiwan Dollar | 15.9000 | N/A | N/A |
| 100 Norwegian Krone | 45.1900 | 41.5700 | 41.8700 |
| 100 Pakistan Rupee | 1.5900 | 1.4800 | 1.3000 |
| 100 Philippine Peso | 8.4500 | 7.9600 | 7.7700 |
| 100 Qatar Riyal | 130.9700 | 124.3400 | 123.8900 |
| 100 Saudi Riyal | 127.2600 | 120.8100 | 120.3800 |
| 100 South Africa Rand | 26.0100 | 23.4900 | 23.6700 |
| 100 Sri Lanka Rupee | 1.5000 | 1.3800 | 1.1700 |
| 100 Swedish Krona | 44.2400 | 40.3100 | 40.3900 |
| 100 Thai Baht | 14.0600 | 12.4800 | 12.1200 |
Gold up
The physical price of gold as at 9.30 am stood at RM277.33 per gramme, down six sen from RM277.39 at 5 pm yesterday. – BERNAMA
