Ringgit Trades Higher Against Dollar Amid Weaker US Data

The Ringgit ended the week marginally higher against the US dollar, despite expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in September remaining intact. This was due to weaker-than-expected US economic data, which helped limit the US dollar's losses.

According to Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, chief economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, the US second-quarter 2026 GDP growth came in below expectations at 1.5 per cent compared with the consensus estimate of 2.1 per cent. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, moderated to 3.7 per cent in June from 4.1 per cent in May.

The Ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies at the close, however. It eased versus the Japanese yen to 2.5520/5548 from 2.5029/5064 at Thursday's close, and depreciated vis-à-vis the euro to 4.6981/7027 from 4.6863/6926 yesterday.