Ringgit Opens Higher Ahead of Jackson Hole Symposium
The Malaysian ringgit opened higher against the US dollar on Friday as market participants remained cautious ahead of signals from the United States Federal Reserve (US Fed) at the annual Jackson Hole Symposium.
According to Afzanizam Rashid, chief economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, the focus will be on how US Fed chair Kevin Warsh describes the prevailing economy and market conditions during the symposium. He expects that it will remain scanty on a forward-looking view and could sound more hawkish.
The ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies, but fell vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.4731/5.4853 from 5.4714/5.4775 at yesterday's close. It gained versus the Japanese yen to 2.5268/2.5326 and appreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6909/4.7014.
Afzanizam expects the ringgit to stay in a narrow range today, as market participants remain watchful of the tone adopted by policymakers at the symposium.