THE ringgit ended almost flat against the US dollar today, weighed by weaker oil prices despite Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to maintain the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3%, an analyst said.

At 6pm, the local note stood at 4.6755/6795 against the greenback, compared to yesterday’s close of 4.6720/6765.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said while BNM’s decision today to maintain the OPR had been mostly anticipated by economists, the change in tone was rather clear that they had shifted to the side of dovishness.

He said BNM no longer views that there is excess policy accommodation but rather that the stance of the monetary policy has been appropriately aligned with the current state of inflation and growth.

“Therefore, the local currency shall remain quite low for now as the US Federal Reserve is likely to maintain its restrictive stance,” he said.

“Perhaps we shall get more information once the Federal Open Market Committee meets up on September 19-20 as they also will share their latest economic projection.”

At the time of writing, Brent crude fell 0.61% to US$90.12 per barrel.   

At the close, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It increased against the euro to 5.0093/0136 from yesterday’s close of 5.0145/0193, rose against the British pound to 5.8289/8339 from 5.8657/8713, but slipped against the Japanese yen to 3.1707/1736 from 3.1694/1727.

The local note also traded mixed against other Asean currencies.

It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.4270/4305 from 3.4308/4343 at yesterday’s close and went up versus the Thai baht to 13.1301/1469 from 13.1532/1710.

The ringgit was almost flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 305.0/305.4 compared to yesterday’s close of 305.5/305.8 and was slightly lower against the Philippine peso at 8.23/8.24 from 8.20/8.21 previously. – Bernama, September 7, 2023.