KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 6): The ringgit rebounded from Monday’s (Sept 5) loss to open slightly higher against the US dollar on Tuesday amid mixed sentiments, as traders remained cautious ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) upcoming two-day monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting from Wednesday, an analyst said.
At 9.01am, the local currency had advanced to 4.4860/4895 against the greenback, from Monday’s close at 4.4900/4940.
The analyst said the market expects BNM’s MPC to continue raising the overnight policy rate by another 25 basis points in this week’s meeting.
“And as long as the US Federal Reserve stays the course for outsized rate hikes in the coming months and China’s [economic] worries persist, we think most Asian currencies, including the ringgit, will be on the defensive against the US dollar,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local unit depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.2022/2052 from Monday’s close at 3.1978/2011, and fell against the euro to 4.4712/4747 from 4.4590/4630.
It eased against the yen to 3.1970/1997 from 3.1966/1997, and weakened against the pound to 5.1984/2024 from 5.1689/1735.-BERNAMA