THE ringgit ended almost flat against the greenback today as the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes provided little clue about when a rate cut would happen. 

At 6pm, the ringgit stood at 4.6330/6370 versus the US dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.6300/6355. 

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit depreciated to as low as RM4.6448 but stayed at the RM4.6300 level towards the end of the session. 

He said the FOMC minutes showed that the Federal Reserve was expected to cut interest rates this year but could do it towards the end of 2024. 

“The discrepancies between what the market thinks about the timing of a rate cut and the signal from the FOMC may cause further volatility in the currency markets,” he told Bernama. 

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. 

It weakened vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.8964/9015 from 5.8463/8532 yesterday and slipped versus the euro to 5.0829/0873 from 5.0634/0694. 

The local currency appreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.2185/2215 from 3.2462/2502 yesterday. 

The ringgit was traded mixed against Asean currencies.  

It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.4903/4936 from 3.4885/4932 at yesterday’s close and depreciated vis-à-vis the Philippine peso to 8.35/8.36 from 8.33/8.34.  

The local currency was flat versus the Indonesian rupiah to 299.0/299.4 from 299.0/299.5, while it rose against the Thai baht at 13.4500/4687 from 13.4824/5063. – Bernama, January 4, 2024.