Ringgit may breach 3.63 against dollar

THE ringgit is expected to weaken next week following the recovery of the US dollar as investors resume buying interest in the greenback, dealers said.

They said the greenback remained the beneficiary, if the risk of global recession deepened everyday, and fear prevailed in the US financial market.

“The ringgit will slowly depreciate next week and may breach the 3.63 level against the US dollar,” one of the dealer said.

Meanwhile, Bank Negara’s announcement that Malaysia’s forecast growth for the year would remain at 5-5.5 per cent will lift the ringgit in the medium term, a forex analyst said.

On Friday, Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz also said the ringgit had remained stable against most major currencies despite heightened de-leveraging activity.

“In the medium term, the ringgit can be supported by our strong fundamentals, an increased account surplus and prospects for growth,” Zeti said.

Early in the week, the central bank at its Monetary and Policy Committee meeting decided to reduce the overnight policy rate (OPR) to 3.25 per cent from 3.50 per cent, which benefited the ringgit.

The ceiling and floor rates of the corridor for the OPR are correspondingly reduced to 3.50 per cent and 3.00 per cent respectively.

On a week-to-week basis, the ringgit was lower against the US dollar at 3.6210/6260 compared with 3.6180/6230 the previous Friday.

The local unit decreased against the Singapore dollar to 2.4010/4064 from last Friday’s close of 2.3608/3664 and also dropped against the yen to 3.8000/8068 from 3.7980/8053 previously.

The ringgit was lower against the British pound at 5.5782/5877 from 5.3706/3794 last Friday and also weaker against the euro at 4.6772/6862 from 4.5319/5393 previously. — Bernama