Ringgit expected to be rangebound

Published: 2009/05/23

THE ringgit is expected to trade rangebound against the US dollar next week as investors are monitoring closely the movement of global economy, dealers said. According to them, the local currency is expected to move between the 3.49 and 3.53 level against the greenback next week.

"The ringgit has potential to rise but if it did, it is not expected to breach the 3.53 level," one of the dealers said. She said that throughout the week, the ringgit gained from the US dollar's weaknesses.

During the week, the ringgit was traded rangebound against the greenback but it strengthened during the last two days of the working week on concerns over the US government's growing debt.

On Thursday, Standard & Poor's lowered the United Kingdom's AAA outlook from "stable" to "negative" due to the government's deteriorating finances under the current economic climate. "The news sparks fears among investors that the United States may face the same predicament," the dealer said.

On a week-to-week basis, the ringgit was higher against US dollar at 3.4900/4950 compared with the previous Friday's 3.5470/5520. The local currency appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.4112/4168 from 2.4170/4226 last Friday and also against the Japanese yen to 3.7072/7130 from 3.7282/7350 previously.

Against the British pound, the ringgit weakened to 5.5173/5259 from 5.3858/3948 last Friday and it also went down against the euro to 4.8686/8769 from 4.8072/8151 previously. -- Bernama