THE ringgit closed stronger against the US dollar today in line with the broader foreign exchange (forex) market as traders started to consider the real possibility of the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) cutting interest rates for non-recessionary reasons, an analyst said. 

At 6pm, the ringgit rose to 4.6655/6705 against the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.6785/6825.

SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said all eyes will be on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes this week to gauge how far the Fed’s appetite is for the “insurance cuts” or whether the central bank is more concerned about loosening financial conditions with bond yields currently lower and stocks higher.

“Hence, there might not be insurance cuts. The US Thanksgiving week is typically a slow week for the forex markets, so I suspect markets may be more apt to consolidate,” he told Bernama. 

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

It decreased against the euro to 5.0999/1053 from Friday’s close of 5.0771/0814, eased vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.8314/8377 from 5.8056/8105 previously, and fell versus the Japanese yen to 3.1456/1491 from 3.1267/1296.

The local note ended mixed against other Asean currencies.

It slipped vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 302.0/302.5 from 301.9/302.3 and fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.4817/4857 from 3.4769/4801 on Friday.

The ringgit strengthened versus the Thai baht to 13.2784/2987 from 13.3298/3481 but was unchanged against the Philippine peso at to 8.40/8.41. – Bernama, November 20, 2023.