Ringgit firms against greenback at close on late buying ahead of FOMC minutes

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian ringgit continued its upward trend on Wednesday, closing higher against the US dollar as a result of last-minute buying activity ahead of the release of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes. At 6 p.m., the ringgit strengthened to 4.0565/0610 from its close the previous day of 4.0575/0615.

Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, Chief Economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, explained to Bernama that market participants will be closely monitoring the FOMC minutes, which are scheduled to be published later tonight, to gain further insights into the stance of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) on monetary policy. The forthcoming FOMC meeting minutes will serve as a reference point for market players to assess the Fed's readiness for a potential rate hike before the upcoming focus on the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, which is set to take place from August 27-29.

At the close of trading, the local currency experienced losses against a range of major currencies, slipping against the Japanese yen to 2.5498/5528 from 2.5420/5446 at Tuesday's close and declining against the British pound to 5.4994/5055 from 5.4902/4956. Additionally, the ringgit experienced a downward trend against the euro, dropping to 4.7080/7132 from 4.6982/7028, and underperformed against the Thai baht, weakening to 12.2686/2871 from 12.2657/2819.

The local note also faced challenges against the Indonesian rupiah, trading at 227.3/227.7 from 227.1/227.4, and experienced a minor decline against the Singapore dollar, settling at 3.1778/1816 from 3.1756/1790. However, the ringgit remained unchanged against the Philippine peso, remaining at 6.56/6.57.