KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit eased against the US dollar at the close of trading today (January 24) in line with regional currencies amid uncertainty over a US interest rate cut.
At 6pm, the ringgit slipped to 4.7280/7350 against the greenback compared to yesterday's (January 23) closing of 4.7265/7290.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, said Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) decision today (January 24) to keep the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) unchanged at 3.00 per cent was much in line with most economists' expectations.
He said judging from the central bank's statement, the OPR is likely to remain steady in the near future.
"On that note, views on the timing of the US interest rate cut matters. It seems that the timing for the first cut has been pushed back, allowing the wide interest rate differential with the US rate to be persistent.
"This would mean investing in US assets would give a better yield compared to investing in emerging economies' assets. This essentially would keep the US dollar strong," Mohd Afzanizam told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.2043/2093 from 3.1994/2013 at yesterday's close, slid against the British pound to 6.0343/0433 from 6.0159/0191 yesterday and eased versus the euro to 5.1540/1616 from 5.1457/1485.
However, the local note saw mixed trading against Asean currencies.
It was lower against the Singapore dollar at 3.5331/5386 compared with 3.5283/5304 at yesterday's close and slipped versus the Thai baht to 13.2493/2745 from 13.2395/2521 yesterday.
However, the ringgit strengthened against the Philippine peso to 8.39/8.41 from 8.41/8.42 previously and rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 300.9/301.4 from 302.2/302.4. — Bernama