Ringgit rises to all-time high
The ringgit rose to an all-time high as players sold off dollars in anticipation of a possible interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve on Tuesday.
The ringgit closed at 3.3125 against the greenback compared with 3.3155 on Monday. It had hit an intra-day high of 3.3100, its best level since the local currency was de-pegged.
The market largely expects a 25 basis-point interest rate cut from the Fed, which will lower interest rates and make the dollar less attractive to hold.
A chartist at a local investment bank said: “A 25 basis-point cut is already priced into the market and would unlikely cause much of a stir on Wall Street.
“Nonetheless, most investors would opt to stay on the sidelines on the off-chance that the Fed decides to surprise the market with a larger than expected rate cut of maybe 50 basis points.”
An economist interviewed earlier said the local unit (trading at 3.34 at the time) still lagged other regional currencies against the dollar in value terms on a trade-weighted basis.
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