The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar on Wednesday ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) 2023 Annual Report and the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision on interest rates.
At 9am, the ringgit rose to 4.7335 against the US dollar from where it closed at 3.7350 yesterday.
According to the Chief Economist of Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said market participants are looking forward to hearing the latest assessments and forecasts for 2024 as well as the results of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting which ended on Wednesday.
Regarding BNM's Annual Report, market participants still do not get any clear indication especially regarding the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data and inflation rate forecast this year.
Based on the current intersection, the projection for GDP to increase by four to five percent and the inflation rate moves between 2.1% to 3.6% in the 2024 forecast.
He also said that we also need to see any parameter changes that occur in the latest economic data and turbulent policies in the global and domestic markets.
Meanwhile, Mohd Afzanizam also highlighted the upcoming FOMC meeting as well as economists' projections regarding the Fed Funds Rate (FFR) which is predicted to remain at 5.50%.
However, the ringgit is trading mostly lower against the world's major currencies. It depreciated against the Japanese yen, the British pound and the euro.
Meanwhile, the ringgit also depreciated against the Asean currency group where it was weak against the Singapore dollar, the Thai baht and even the Philippine peso. However, it rose slightly against the Indonesian rupiah.
