malaysiang
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit is likely to trade on a cautious tone next week ahead of the US Presidential election on Nov 5, said an analyst. SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes noted that traders were positioning for a Donald Trump win, which suggests a potentially bearish trajectory for the ringgit, possibly taking it down to the 4.50 level against the US dollar.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, a Kamala Harris victory could boost the ringgit to sub-4.20 as the US Federal Reserve would likely reintroduce interest rate cuts. Betting markets currently favor Trump, but election polls indicate a tight race with margins too slim for any real comfort. The trajectory of the ringgit in this environment is uncertain, akin to flipping a coin. Malaysia has shown resilience due to strong exports and investment, yet the 2025 outlook largely depends on the US election outcome.
The ringgit traded mostly lower against the greenback during the week just ended, primarily driven by the uncertainty surrounding
the US presidential election outcome. On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit eased against the US dollar to 4.3780/3835 from 4.3405/3450 a week ago. It also traded mostly lower against other major currencies.
The local note advanced versus the euro, closing at 5.6502/6573 on Friday from 4.6977/7026 a week earlier. However, it weakened against the British pound to 5.6502/6573 from 5.6348/6407 and declined vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.8652/8690 from 2.8554/8586 previously.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was lower against ASEAN currencies. It slid versus the Philippine peso to 7.49/7.51 from 7.44/7.45 at the end of last week and depreciated against the Thai baht to 12.9103/9322 from 12.8425/8619 previously. The local note slipped against its Singapore counterpart to 3.3054/3098 from 3.2870/2907 last week and weakened vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 278.2/278.7 from 277.3/277.8 previously.
