Ringgit Regains Strength Amid Strong US Economic Data
The Malaysian ringgit experienced mixed trading on Thursday against major currencies.
It initially weakened against the US dollar due to strong US economic data, which reinforced expectations of further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The ringgit decreased to 4.0840/4.0880 against the greenback from Wednesday's close of 4.0780/4.0825.
However, according to Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, chief economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, the ringgit managed to regain strength in the afternoon, trading at RM4.0793 despite the US dollar remaining strong with a US Dollar Index of around 101 points.
The local note closed higher against a basket of major currencies, including the euro, British pound, and Japanese yen. It also gained against its Asean peers, such as the Singapore dollar, Thai baht, Indonesian rupiah, but remained unchanged against the Philippine peso.