Ambank Economic Research predicts that the ringgit will continue to rise to RM4.50 by the end of this year against the US dollar due to several factors such as expected interest rate cuts.
However, USD/MYR has actually started to move below the 4.685 level since last week and it is an indication that the current fair value is about 4.50/60 in his research note.
He also said that Malaysia's economic fundamentals remained strong as the ringgit opened higher at 4.67 against the US dollar yesterday from its closing of 4.68 the previous day.
This will continue to support the sentiment of the local unit and continue the beneficial repositioning of the currency in the short term to determine the direction of the Bank Negara's monetary policy to maintain stability in the market.
In addition, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to reduce the Federal Funds Rate by the second or third quarter of this year.
No less important is the effort coordinated by the central bank to increase inflows from abroad.
The research firm emphasized that the weakness of the US Dollar Index and the undervaluation of the ringgit has prompted the conversion of foreign currencies (FOREX) into local currencies as evidenced by the reversal in deposit volumes.
Bank Negara has kept the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3% and expects the central bank to keep OPR at its current level throughout the year despite continued external intervention.
