The ringgit fell again today after several days of showing recovery against the United States (US) dollar and investors are still waiting for the market situation regarding interest rate cuts in the US.
At exactly 9am this morning, the ringgit plunged to 4.6205 against the US dollar from yesterday's close of 4.6035.
According to the Chief Economist of Bank Muamalat Malaysia, Mohd Afzanizam said that the market is now still waiting for the data from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) report which will be released tomorrow and will strengthen expectations about the rate cut in 2024.
He also said that the ringgit is now in a situation of sudden increase and there will be a slight technical correction in the market.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) rose to 102 points even though the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) showed weakness in December at 47.9 points compared to the consensus estimate of 48.2 points.
Nevertheless, the local currency traded mostly higher against a group of major currencies. The ringgit rose against the British pound and the euro but depreciated against the Japanese yen, reaching 3.2550.
In addition, the local currency also opened lower compared to several other Asean currencies. The ringgit fell against the Singapore dollar and Thai baht, trading lower both at 3.4840 and 13.4913.
However, the ringgit is seen to be slightly stronger against the Indonesian rupiah and the Philippine peso than at the opening of trading earlier this morning.
