Ringgit ends lower on hawkish Fed sentiment
Federal Reserve officials indicated that more rate hikes were likely, says analyst.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian ringgit closed lower against the US dollar on Wednesday, despite the ongoing hawkish stance from US Federal Reserve officials regarding interest rate hikes. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid attributed the downward trend in the foreign exchange market to the signals from the Fed, including remarks from Philadelphia Fed president Anna Paulson.
These signals suggested that additional rate increases are imminent. As a result, US Treasury yields for the two- and 10-year maturities climbed by six basis points to 4.91% and 5.57%, respectively. Additionally, the anticipation of higher Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting rates has intensified. By 6pm, the ringgit weakened to 4.0805/4.0845 against the US dollar, down from the previous close of 4.0715/4.0765.
The local currency also fell against various major currencies, such as the euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Singapore dollar, Philippine peso, Indonesian rupiah, and Thai baht.
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.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
- Ringgit ends lower on hawkish Fed sentiment freemalaysiatoday.com
