THE ringgit closed marginally higher against the US dollar today, supported by Malaysia’s latest Industrial Production Index (IPI) data, an analyst said.

At 6pm, the local note rose to 4.6725/6760 against the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.6745/6795.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar/ringgit pair moved in a tight range today between 4.672 and 4.6803 as Malaysia’s IPI came in higher than expected, rising 0.7% year-on-year in July.

A rising yuan, after the Chinese central bank warned that it would not tolerate excessive movements for the currency, also helped lift sentiment for the ringgit.

Afzanizam said market sentiments were still fragile ahead of US inflation data later in the week.

He said the unveiling of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) Mid-Term Review (MTR) today indicated that the government remained committed to keeping the fiscal deficit at between 3% and 3.5% by 2025.

“This will help to lift the value of ringgit in the mid-term as there will be measures to bolster the government’s coffers via a tax policy, as mentioned in the 12MP MTR,” said.

The ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It fell against the euro to 5.0145/0183 from Friday’s close of 5.0031/0085, went down versus the British pound to 5.8551/8595 from 5.8352/8414 and depreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.1855/1881 from 3.1741/1777.

Meanwhile, the local note traded mostly firmer against other Asean currencies.

It dropped vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.4334/4362 from 3.4277/4312 at Friday’s close, but slightly improved against the Indonesian rupiah at 304.7/305.1 from 304.9/305.4.

It rose against the Thai baht to 13.1583/1755 from 13.1591/1787 and was slightly better against the Philippine peso at 8.24/8.25 from 8.25/8.26. – Bernama, September 11, 2023.