KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit was lower against the US dollar in early trade today as the greenback had strengthened after the United States (US) announced its gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2023 (2Q 2023) last night.
At 9 am, the local note depreciated to 4.5490/5525 against the greenback compared with 4.5215/5260 at Thursday’s close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that the US data points showed that its economy remained resilient despite enduring massive interest rate hikes since last year.
“Its 2Q 2023 GDP came in higher at 2.4 per cent against consensus estimates of 1.8 per cent, while its initial jobless claims also declined to 221,000 last week, which is lower compared with the market’s expectation of 235,000.
“Consequently, the US Dollar Index rose by 0.88 per cent to 101.77 points,” he told Bernama.
As such, Mohd Afzanizam expects the ringgit to range between RM4.52 and RM4.53 today as markets are still contemplating whether the US Federal Reserve would raise its benchmark interest rate further following better-than-expected data.
In the meantime, the local unit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It decreased against the Japanese yen to 3.2619/2646 from 3.2285/2319 on Thursday, but strengthened versus the euro to 4.9948/9986 from 5.0374/0424, and firmed vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.8186/8231 from 5.8685/8743 yesterday.
At the same time, the local note was traded mostly lower against other Asean currencies.
The ringgit slid versus the Singapore dollar to 3.4170/4198 from 3.4163/4200 at the close on Thursday, fell against the Indonesian rupiah to 303.2/303.6 from 301.3/301.8 and declined vis-a-vis the Philippines’ peso to 8.30/8.32 from 8.28/8.30 yesterday.
However, it was higher against the Thai baht to 13.1702/1861 from 13.2634/2829 previously.
US dollar strengthens
The US dollar significantly strengthened on Thursday, after the release of better-than-expected US economic data, Xinhua reported.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.86 per cent to 101.7678 in late trading.
The US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a seasonal and inflation adjusted 2.4 per cent annual rate in the second quarter, the US Commerce Department said Thursday, which was faster than economists expected.
The government’s measure of inflation in the economy, the price index for gross domestic purchases, rose at 1.9 per cent, the slowest in three years. The personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) excluding food and energy advanced at 3.8 per cent, which was the smallest gain since 2021.
Immediately after the release of the GDP report, US Treasury yields moved higher, boosting the dollar.
Meanwhile, the US Labor Department reported on Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 221,000 for the week ending July 22, the lowest level since February.
Also on Thursday, the European Central Bank raised its interest rates by 25 basis points, in line with expectations, and decided to set remuneration of minimum reserves at 0 per cent.
In late New York trading, the euro decreased to US$1.0973 from US$1.1105 in the previous session, and the British pound was down to US$1.2800 from US$1.2957 dollars.
The US dollar bought 139.3350 Japanese yen, lower than 139.9900 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar increased to 0.8694 Swiss francs from 0.8605 Swiss francs, and it increased to 1.3232 Canadian dollars from 1.3198 Canadian dollars. The US dollar rose to 10.5203 Swedish krona from 10.3921 Swedish krona.
Short-term rates to remain stable
Short-term rates are expected to remain stable today on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) operations to absorb surplus liquidity from the financial system.
Liquidity is estimated at RM38.06 billion in the conventional system and RM26.61 billion in Islamic funds.
Today, the central bank will conduct a RM1 billion conventional money market tender for seven days, and two Qard tenders, comprising a RM1.2 billion tender for seven days as well as a RM600 million tender for 14 days.
BNM will also call for two reverse repo tenders, namely a RM1.5 billion tender for 31 days and a RM500 million tender for 94 days.
It also announced the availability of reverse repo, sale and buy-back agreements as well as Collateralised Commodity Murabahah facilities for tenors of one to three months.
Additionally, the central bank announced the opening of a RM3 billion Bank Negara Interbank Bills Islamic (BNIBI) tender for 31 days, to be issued on Aug 1.
At 4 pm, BNM will conduct up to RM39.3 billion conventional overnight tender and RM24.8 billion for Murabahah overnight tender.
Foreign exchange rates
Following are the opening Malaysian foreign exchange for major currencies today:
1 USD 4.5490/5525
100 yen 3.2619/2646
1 pound 5.8186/8231
1 euro 4.9948/9986
1 SGD 3.4170/4198
100 baht 13.1702/1861
1 mln rupiah 303.2/303.6
100 pesos 8.30/8.32
Exchange rates issued by Malayan Banking Bhd today
| SELLING TT/OD | BUYING TT | BUYING OD | |
| 1 US Dollar | 4.6150 | 4.4820 | 4.4570 |
| 1 Australian Dollar | 3.1110 | 2.9890 | 2.9910 |
| 1 Brunei Dollar | 3.4670 | 3.3680 | 3.3630 |
| 1 Canadian Dollar | 3.4860 | 3.3940 | 3.3780 |
| 1 Euro | 5.0750 | 4.9140 | 4.9240 |
| 1 New Zealand Dollar | 2.8670 | 2.7620 | 2.7520 |
| 1 Papua N Guinea Kina | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1 Singapore Dollar | 3.4670 | 3.3680 | 3.3630 |
| 1 Sterling Pound | 5.9130 | 5.7300 | 5.7540 |
| 1 Swiss Franc | 5.2960 | 5.1750 | 5.1920 |
| 100 UAE Dirham | 127.1600 | 120.6100 | 120.0100 |
| 100 Bangladesh Taka | 4.3260 | 4.0600 | 3.8460 |
| 100 Chinese Renminbi | 64.7900 | 62.0600 | N/A |
| 100 Danish Krone | 69.8200 | 64.2800 | 64.4700 |
| 100 Hongkong Dollar | 59.7900 | 56.8400 | 56.4700 |
| 100 Indian Rupee | 5.7100 | 5.3600 | 5.1600 |
| 100 Indonesian Rupiah | 0.0318 | 0.0288 | 0.0237 |
| 100 Japanese Yen | 3.3240 | 3.2190 | 3.1790 |
| 100 New Taiwan Dollar | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 100 Norwegian Krone | 46.5400 | 42.8200 | 42.8100 |
| 100 Pakistan Rupee | N/A | N/A | 1.3300 |
| 100 Philippine Peso | 8.5600 | 8.0700 | 7.8700 |
| 100 Qatar Riyal | 128.1500 | 121.6500 | 121.0300 |
| 100 Saudi Riyal | 124.4500 | 118.1400 | 117.5700 |
| 100 South Africa Rand | 26.8300 | 24.2300 | 24.2500 |
| 100 Sri Lanka Rupee | 1.4400 | 1.3200 | 1.1100 |
| 100 Swedish Krona | 45.3300 | 41.3000 | 41.3900 |
| 100 Thai Baht | N/A | N/A | 12.0800 |
Gold down
The physical price of gold as at 9.30 am stood at RM275.05 per gramme, down RM2.71 from RM277.76 at 5 pm yesterday. – BERNAMA
