Ringgit ends lower as investors await FOMC decision
Investors remain cautious ahead of the two-day US Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which begins tonight, says analyst.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian ringgit closed lower against the US dollar today, as investors remained cautious awaiting the two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that started tonight, an analyst reported. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's chief economist, Afzanizam Rashid, cited odds of a US rate hike this week at 92.3% based on data from the CME FedWatch, a tool by Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group) that indicates market expectations for the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decisions.
Consequently, the US Dollar Index (DXY) increased by 0.25% to 99.641 points, while the 10-year US Treasury note yield surpassed the 5% level. At 6pm, the local currency dropped to 4.0835/4.0880 against the greenback, down from yesterday's close of 4.0735/4.0770. The ringgit also weakened against the euro to 4.7111/4.7163, the yen to 2.6366/2.6396, and the British pound to 5.5037/5.5098.
In comparison to ASEAN currencies, it slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.2093/3.2131 and the Thai baht to 12.2620/12.2800. The local note also saw a slight decline against the Indonesian rupiah at 230.7/231.1, and was down against the Philippine peso to 6.50/6.51.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Ringgit ends lower against US dollar as investors await FOMC decision nst.com.my
- Ringgit ends lower as investors await FOMC decision freemalaysiatoday.com
