THE ringgit closed higher against the greenback today as the latest economic data from the United States heightened expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is done with interest rate hikes, with traders now speculating on when the Fed would start cutting rates, a dealer said. 

However, gains by the ringgit were capped by the fall in oil prices.  

At 6pm, the ringgit rose to 4.6785/6825 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.6850/6910.  

ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues said the US dollar sentiment remained downbeat following the US initial jobless claims data, which was higher than expected at 231,000 against the 220,000 forecast. 

“The higher-than-expected reading shows that more people have lost their jobs and that tends to negatively impact the greenback.  

“From a technical point of view, as the USD-MYR has managed to break below 4.7000, it is possible that it could fall to the 4.6350 region in a few days’ time,” he said. 

SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said with Malaysia being a commodity exporter, energy prices remained the biggest drag on the ringgit. 

“We think some late cycle of US economics is starting to enter the picture. The US data is starting to soften very quickly, which is somewhat of a concern for commodity exporters, especially with growth concerns in China and Europe. 

“But the US dollar has entered a consolidative phase with the market (speculating on) when the Fed will cut. It is a big question for foreign exchange markets right now,” he told Bernama. 

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

It increased against the euro to 5.0771/0814 from 5.0832/0897 at yesterday’s close and improved vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.8056/8105 from 5.8103/8178 yesterday, but fell against the Japanese yen to 3.1267/1296 from 3.0963/1005 previously. 

The local note ended lower against other Asean currencies. 

It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.4769/4801 from 3.4737/4784 yesterday and decreased vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 301.9/302.3 from 301.1/301.7 previously. 

The ringgit also weakened against the Thai baht to 13.3298/3481 from 13.2065/2286 yesterday and was flat against the Philippine peso at 8.40/8.41. – Bernama, November 17, 2023.