Ringgit ends week on strong footing as US bond market concrns weigh on greenback
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended the week on a strong footing against the US dollar despite higher United States Treasury yields.
The ringgit strengthened to 4.0365/0405 against the US dollar at the close of business on Friday, ending the week on a positive note despite higher US Treasury yields. This improvement was attributed to rising Malaysian yields and growing concerns that recent US bond-market intervention could negatively impact the greenback. Experts believe that efforts to suppress long-term US yields may lead to yield-curve management or financial repression, both of which have historically had a negative impact on the US dollar.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, suggested that the US government should focus on raising revenue and curbing spending to reduce the growth in US government debt, which has reached an all-time high of $40 trillion.
Brief written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
