Ringgit climbs before US Federal Reserve minutes reveal policy hints

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — The Malaysian ringgit demonstrated resilience, climbing higher against the US dollar before the release of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes later in the day. At 6 pm, the ringgit reached 4.0565/0610 against the US dollar, up from yesterday's closing rate of 4.0575/0615. Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, chief economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, explained to Bernama that market participants would be closely watching the FOMC minutes, set to be published later that evening, for additional insights into the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) monetary policy stance.

These minutes will guide market participants in determining the Fed's willingness to consider rate hikes before the event's focus transitions to the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium scheduled for Aug 27-29. By the close of the trading day, the local currency slipped against a diverse range of currencies. It fell against the Japanese yen to 2.5498/5528 from 2.5420/5446, dropped against the British pound to 5.4994/5055 from 5.4902/4956, and declined against the euro to 4.7080/7132 from 4.6982/7028.

The ringgit also experienced a downward trend against other major currencies, including the Indonesian rupiah (227.3/227.7 from 227.1/227.4), Thai baht (12.2686/2871 from 12.2657/2819), and Singapore dollar (3.1778/1816 from 3.1756/1790). However, it remained stable against the Philippine peso, maintaining a steady rate of 6.56/6.57.