Ringgit slips against US dollar amid Fed rate hike bets

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — The Malaysian ringgit opened weaker against the US dollar today, slipping to 4.0780/0840 from 4.0765/0805 the previous day's close. This comes amid investors' cautious stance ahead of the US Federal Reserve's December policy meeting. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the US Dollar Index had risen to 103.198 points, indicating expectations of a possible Fed rate hike.

Despite this, traders overlooked the rise in initial jobless claims to 200,000 last week and a 5.5 percent month-on-month contraction in existing home sales in the US, as the anticipation of a Fed rate increase dominated market sentiment. Dr Afzanizam further predicted that the ringgit would trade between RM4.07 and RM4.08 against the US dollar today.

The ringgit also strengthened against the euro and British pound, and gained against the Japanese yen, but showed mixed performance against ASEAN peers and remained flat against the Philippine peso.