Ringgit opens higher as hopes of OPR normalisation support local currency ahead of BNM meeting

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — The Malaysian ringgit opened higher against the US dollar on Oct 29, buoyed by the prospect of overnight policy rate (OPR) normalization during the upcoming Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. At 8 am, the ringgit reached 4.0720/0800 against the US dollar, marking an improvement from yesterday's closing rate of 4.0745/0790.

Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, Chief Economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, attributed the stability to the unchanged OPR at 2.75 per cent. Rashid further noted that the US dollar index (DXY) has declined by 0.19 per cent to 102.127 points, as Federal Open Market Committee members maintained the benchmark interest rate between 3.75 per cent and 4 per cent.

He expressed optimism that the Federal Reserve's cautious stance in achieving its price stability objective may bolster the ringgit in the near future. Despite opening mostly lower against major currencies, the ringgit showed resilience vis-a-vis the Japanese yen (2.5798/5851) and edged down against the British pound (5.4268/4374) and the euro (4.5427/5516).

The local currency displayed mixed performance against its Asean counterparts, slightly strengthening against the Indonesian rupiah (223.9/224.4) and remaining flat against the Philippine peso (6.36/6.37). However, it weakened against the Singapore dollar (3.1785/1850) and the Thai baht (12.0759/1068).