KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar today, as the greenback stayed firm following hawkish comments from the United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell.
Powell reiterated his defence for “higher for longer” rates at the Jackson Hole Symposium last Friday, which continued to support the greenback, said an analyst.
At 9 am, the local note eased to 4.6400/6430 against the greenback from 4.6385/6430 at last Friday’s close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit is expected to continue trading in a narrow range as the Fed is likely to keep its restrictive monetary policy stance.
On another note, he said the latest consumer price index (CPI) print for Malaysia, which came in at two per cent in July, suggests that the Bank Negara Malaysia would be keen to keep the overnight policy rate steady at three per cent for the rest of 2023.
“In that sense, demand for the US dollar is expected to remain positive amidst the heightened global economic uncertainties, especially in China, as market participants will seek shelter in the safe haven currency.
“The ringgit could range between RM4.63 and RM4.65 against the US dollar today,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit opened mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local note decreased versus the euro to 5.0126/0158 from 5.0054/0103 at last Friday’s close and slipped against the British pound to 5.8441/8479 from 5.8385/8441, but improved against the Japanese yen to 3.1670/1693 from 3.1757/1790 previously.
At the same time, the ringgit traded mixed lower against other Asean currencies.
It eased against the Singapore dollar at 3.4246/4273 from 3.4202/4238 at last Friday’s close, and slid against the Indonesian rupiah to 303.3/303.7 from 303.2/303.7 previously.
However, the local currency appreciated vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 13.2081/2223 from 13.2121/2309 last Friday and was unchanged against the Philippines’ peso at 8.20/8.21.
Short-terms rates remain stable
Short-term rates are expected to remain stable today on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) operations to absorb surplus liquidity from the financial system.
Liquidity is estimated at RM41.71 billion in the conventional system and RM26.64 billion in Islamic funds.
Today, the central bank will conduct a RM1 billion conventional money market tender for seven days and a RM800 million Qard tender for seven days.
It will also conduct two reverse repo tenders, namely a RM1.5 billion tender for 32 days and a RM500 million tender for 92 days.
BNM also announced the availability of reverse repo, sale and buy-back agreements, as well as Collateralised Commodity Murabahah facilities for tenors of one to three months.
At 4 pm, it will conduct up to RM42.7 billion conventional overnight tender and RM25.8 billion for Murabahah overnight tender.
Foreign exchange rates
Following are the opening Malaysian foreign exchange for major currencies today:
1 USD 4.6400/6430
100 yen 3.1670/1693
1 pound 5.8441/8479
1 euro 5.0126/0158
1 SGD 3.4246/4273
100 baht 13.2081/2223
1 mln rupiah 303.3/303.7
100 pesos 8.20/8.21
Exchange rates issued By Malayan Banking Bhd
| SELLING TT/OD | BUYING TT | BUYING OD | |
| 1 US Dollar | 4.7160 | 4.5830 | 4.5750 |
| 1 Australian Dollar | 3.0390 | 2.9180 | 2.9080 |
| 1 Brunei Dollar | 3.4730 | 3.3730 | 3.3690 |
| 1 Canadian Dollar | 3.4590 | 3.3660 | 3.3670 |
| 1 Euro | 5.0930 | 4.9270 | 4.9220 |
| 1 New Zealand Dollar | 2.7950 | 2.6910 | 2.6870 |
| 1 Papua N Guinea Kina | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1 Singapore Dollar | 3.4730 | 3.3730 | 3.3690 |
| 1 Sterling Pound | 5.9500 | 5.7660 | 5.7350 |
| 1 Swiss Franc | 5.3220 | 5.2010 | 5.1740 |
| 100 UAE Dirham | 129.7100 | 122.9500 | 123.1400 |
| 100 Bangladesh Taka | 4.3760 | 4.1040 | 3.9170 |
| 100 Chinese Renminbi | 65.0400 | 62.2700 | N/A |
| 100 Danish Krone | 70.0500 | 64.4400 | 64.4200 |
| 100 Hongkong Dollar | 60.6700 | 57.6400 | 57.6400 |
| 100 Indian Rupee | 5.7900 | 5.4300 | 5.2600 |
| 100 Indonesian Rupiah | 0.0319 | 0.0288 | 0.0240 |
| 100 Japanese Yen | 3.2250 | 3.1240 | 3.1250 |
| 100 New Taiwan Dollar | 15.9000 | N/A | N/A |
| 100 Norwegian Krone | 45.2300 | 41.6100 | 41.3700 |
| 100 Pakistan Rupee | 1.5900 | 1.4800 | 1.2800 |
| 100 Philippine Peso | 8.4400 | 7.9500 | 7.7600 |
| 100 Qatar Riyal | 130.6100 | 123.9900 | 124.1400 |
| 100 Saudi Riyal | 126.9900 | 120.5600 | 120.6100 |
| 100 South Africa Rand | 26.2300 | 23.6900 | 23.2900 |
| 100 Sri Lanka Rupee | 1.5000 | 1.3800 | 1.1700 |
| 100 Swedish Krona | 44.0000 | 40.0600 | 40.1100 |
| 100 Thai Baht | 14.0100 | 12.4300 | 12.0800 |
Gold up
The physical price of gold as at 9.30 am stood at RM276.73 per gramme, down three sen from RM276.76 at 5 pm last Friday. – BERNAMA
