Ringgit Gains On US Dollar After Court Halts Tariff Block
The ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar this morning, buoyed by improved investor confidence in emerging market currencies following a temporary reprieve granted by a US court on Trump-era import tariffs.
At 8 am, the local currency surged to 4.2180/2485 against the greenback, up from Thursday's close of 4.2390/2475.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid explained that the US Dollar Index (DXY) slipped below the 100-point mark to 99.278 after the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stayed a US Court of International Trade ruling that would have blocked most Trump-era tariffs on Wednesday (US time).
He noted, 'Apart from that, the second estimate for the first quarter of 2025 US gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualised rate (SAAR), slightly better than the first estimate of -0.3 per cent but lower than the 2.4 per cent expansion in the previous quarter.'
The economist added that recent US economic data indicated weakening conditions, citing Initial Jobless Claims rising to 240,000 last week compared to consensus estimates of 229,000, while Continuous Jobless Claims increased to 1.91 million for the week ending May 17 from 1.89 million the prior week.
Traders and investors are now awaiting the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) inflation data. 'Consensus is pencilling the headline PCE and Core PCE at a moderate pace of 2.2 per cent and 2.5 per cent in April against 2.3 per cent and 2.6 per cent in the prior month,' he said.
'As such, the ringgit is expected to trend higher today, possibly around RM4.21 and RM4.22, owing to a weaker US dollar outlook,' he told Bernama.
At the opening, the ringgit appreciated against a basket of major currencies, strengthening to 5.6943/7355 versus the British pound from Thursday's 5.7091/7205, and gaining against the euro at 4.7992/8339 compared to 4.7803/7899 previously.
However, it weakened slightly against the Japanese yen to 2.9349/9563 from yesterday's close of 2.9188/9249.
The local note also traded mostly higher against its ASEAN counterparts. It improved versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2789/3031 from 3.2853/2921 on Thursday, inched up against the Indonesian rupiah to 258.6/260.6 from 259.9/260.5, and advanced against the Philippine peso to 7.56/7.62 from 7.60/7.62.
The ringgit, however, slid against the Thai baht to 12.9565/13.0590 from 12.9321/9647 previously. Related
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