THE ringgit ended almost unchanged against the US dollar today, amid growing concerns of a global economic slowdown, an economist said.

At 6pm, the local note stood at 4.6640/6690 against the greenback compared to 4.6635/6705 at last Friday’s close.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit remained soft compared against the greenback as the market awaits key data points in the United States due this week. 

Additionally, investors will also closely watch Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on Thursday on the overnight policy rate (OPR).

“We think the central bank will keep the policy rate unchanged at 3.00%,” Afzanizam told Bernama.

Similarly, RHB Research in a note today expects BNM to keep the status quo of the OPR at 3.00% at its meeting on Thursday.

The anticipation was due to limited inflation risks, the central bank’s foreign exchange intervention measures and its view on the global economy, RHB Research said.

Meanwhile at the close, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It fell vis-a-vis the euro to 5.0791/0845 from 5.0571/0647 at Friday’s close, weakened against the Japanese yen to 3.2252/2289 from 3.2220/2273 and fell versus the British pound to 5.9088/9152 from 5.8923/9012 previously.

The local note traded mostly lower against other Asean currencies.

The ringgit went down against the Singapore dollar to 3.4482/4521 versus 3.4376/4431 on Friday and slipped against the Thai baht to 13.2357/2563 from 13.1529/1786 previously.

It slipped versus the Indonesian rupiah to 310.2/310.7 from 309.5/310.1, but was firmer against the Philippine peso at 8.43/8.44 from 8.44/8.46 on Friday. – Bernama, July 3, 2023.