KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit remained stronger against the US dollar on Thursday, bolstered by a softer US Dollar Index (DXY), which fell 0.91% to 106.036 points.
This followed the release of the latest inflation data, which showed US core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation increasing by 2.8% in October from 2.7% in September, which suggested inflation in the US remained sticky.
At 8am, the ringgit was trading at 4.4325/4.4450 against the US dollar, strengthening from Wednesday’s close of 4.4440/4.4465.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid noted the ringgit has strengthened against the US dollar, improving from RM4.4855 on Nov 14 to RM4.4432 yesterday, representing a 0.95% gain, as the impact of ‘Trump Trade’ appears to have lessened.
Looking ahead, Afzanizam opined that the ringgit could gain further, although the outlook remains uncertain amid evolving US economic data.
He said the US economy is maintaining a steady pace, with employment conditions remaining robust, as reflected in the decline in the four-week moving average of initial jobless claims.
“The Federal Reserve may implement a quarter-point rate cut next month, but market concerns persist over the pace of monetary easing in 2025, particularly given the potential for higher inflation alongside the resilience of the US economy,” he added.
The ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It weakened versus the British pound to 5.6186/5.6345 from 5.5962/5.6044 and slipped against the euro to 4.6812/4.6944 from 4.6691/4.6759 yesterday.
However, it rose vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.9288/2.9375 from 2.9311/2.9356.
The local unit also traded mixed against Asean currencies.
It was marginally higher against the Singapore dollar to 3.3054/3.3152 from 3.3055/3.3106 and rose against the Philippine peso to 7.55/7.57 from 7.56/7.57.
However, it went down versus the Thai baht to 12.8348/12.8803 from 12.8342/12.8597 and almost flat against the Indonesian rupiah to 278.1/279.0 from 278.6/279.1 previously.
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