Ringgit seen trading higher

Bank Negara is expected to keep its overnight policy rate unchanged this week and this would likely boost the ringgit, dealers say

THE ringgit is expected to be higher against the US dollar this week on steady commercial demand for the local unit, dealers said.

They said the near-term outlook for the ringgit would be bright as it is likely to further strengthen driven by Bank Negara Malaysia’s monetary policy meeting this week.

“We expect BNM to keep its overnight policy rate unchanged at the meeting,” a dealer said, adding that the move would likely boost the ringgit which is expected to move between 3.22 and 3.21 level.

On Thursday, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research said the ringgit was currently undervalued by five per cent.

Early in the week, the local currency was traded on a higher note but eased on Wednesday as the greenback benefited from the decline in crude oil amid slowing demand.

However, he said, the greenback is expected to slowly depreciate this week.

“We may not see buying interest on the US dollar as the market is still concerned about the US economy,” he said.

On a week-to-week basis, the ringgit was higher against the US dollar at 3.2410/2440 compared with 3.2410/2440 the previous Friday.

The local unit increased against the Singapore dollar to 2.3944/3992 Friday from the previous Friday’s close of 2.3805/3862 and also advanced against the yen to 3.0463/0503 from 3.0230/0270 previously.

The ringgit was higher against the British pound at 6.4635/4705 Friday from 6.4123/4196 the previous Friday and also against the euro at 5.1402/1456 from 5.1179/1239 previously. — Bernama