Ringgit shrugs off oil spike, rate hike jitters to close higher

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — The Malaysian ringgit ended marginally higher against the US dollar on Thursday, despite soaring oil prices and speculation of an upcoming US interest rate increase, as market participants focused on the release of US consumer price index (CPI) data on Friday. By 6 pm, the local currency had risen to 4.0630/0670 against the greenback, from Wednesday's closing level of 4.0670/0720.

Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, Chief Economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, noted that Brent crude oil prices were trading around US$101 (RM410) per barrel, which could support arguments for an interest rate hike at the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting. However, he remarked that the ringgit's favorable performance against the US dollar remains to be seen in the short term.

He emphasized that the upcoming US inflation data on Friday would be crucial for determining the Federal Reserve's future policy direction, which could have a significant impact on the ringgit's near-term trajectory. By the close of the trading day, the ringgit had shown strength against a range of major currencies, including the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, and Asean currencies such as the Singapore dollar, Thai baht, Indonesian rupiah, and Philippine peso.