KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended the week today by extending substantial gains against the greenback as a pause in the US interest rates continued to lift sentiment, analysts said.
The risk appetite improved after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and several major central banks kept their interest rates unchanged this week.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said financial markets were very much cheering the Fed’s move to hold interest rates with traders betting that the Fed is at the end of its rate hike cycle.
“Even ahead of the US nonfarm payrolls data (later today), the ringgit is stronger as local exporters are forecasting that the US yields have peaked, hence there is less pressure on the local note, so now they are selling hoarded US dollars at a tidy profit,” he told Bernama.
At 6pm, the ringgit jumped to 4.7265/4.7320 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.7485/4.7525.
At the close, the ringgit traded higher versus a basket of major currencies.
It gained against the Japanese yen to 3.1445/3.1484 from 3.1593/3.1622 at the close yesterday, strengthened versus the euro to 5.0318/5.0377 from 5.0448/5.0491 and gained against the British pound to 5.7734/5.7801 from 5.7860/5.7909.
The ringgit traded mostly lower against other Asean currencies, except for the Singapore dollar, where it appreciated to 3.4713/3.4756 from 3.4798/3.4830 at yesterday’s close.
The local note fell vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 300.5/300.9 from 299.4/299.8, eased against the Thai baht to 13.2332/13.2553 from 13.2156/13.2337 and weakened against the Philippine peso to 8.42/8.44 from 8.38/8.40 yesterday.
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