The ringgit extended its uptrend against the US dollar for the second consecutive day driven by continued buying interest, said an economist.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and head of social finance Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit was stronger against the US dollar in line with other Asian currencies such as the Singapore dollar, Chinese yuan and Japanese yen.
“It appears that market participants are constructive towards ringgit.”Elevated crude oil prices may, to some degree, help to sustain the value of the ringgit along with the expectation of a US Federal pivot with respect to their interest rate decision,” he told Bernama.
He noted that tonight, the US ISM for services, expected to decline to 54.5 points based on consensus estimates, would be closely watched by the markets.”If the trend continues to suggest weaker growth, it might lead to further weakening of the US dollar in the immediate term,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.At the same time, the ringgit traded mixed against Asean currencies.
It inched up versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3165/3205 from 3.3198/3234 at Tuesday’s close and increased slightly versus the Indonesian rupiah to 294.40/294.90 from 295.40/295.80.
