Ringgit Likely To Trade At Around 4.50 Against US Dollar Next Week

By Siti Radziah Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- The ringgit is expected to trade at around 4.50 against the US dollar next week as markets brace for Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan 20, said Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (Kenanga IB).

It noted that a wave of executive orders may heighten policy uncertainty, keeping risk-on assets in check.

“Meanwhile, geopolitical risks, including the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, remain in focus,” it said.

Kenanga IB opined that the US dollar held firm as expected throughout this week, keeping the ringgit within a narrow 4.50 to 4.51 range. 

“The US dollar Index briefly surged toward 110.0 on Monday, driven by stronger-than-expected non-farm payrolls, but eased to 109.0 following a soft US core Producer Price Index print,” the investment bank said in a research note on Friday.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit depreciated against the US dollar to 4.5040/5085 from 4.4945/5000 a week ago.

Meanwhile, the local note traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

It gained versus the British pound to 5.4953/5008 from 5.5296/5364 at the end of the previous week, decreased vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.8918/8949 from 2.8461/8497 and slid against the euro to 4.6382/6429 from 4.6298/6355 previously.

The ringgit was also mixed against ASEAN currencies.

The local note fell against the Thai baht to 13.0664/0856 from 12.9824/13.0043 at the previous Friday’s close, and it slipped versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2948/2983 from 3.2843/2888 previously.

In contrast, the ringgit appreciated versus the Indonesian rupiah to 274.9/275.3 from 277.5/278.0 and went up vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 7.68/7.69 from 7.70/7.71.

-- BERNAMA