The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar as investors took cautious steps ahead of the expected uncertainty of the announcement of Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the second quarter of 2024 on Friday.
At 10.40 am, the ringgit fell to 4.4480 which is a change of 0.34% compared to 4.4300 at the close of trading on Thursday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's Chief Economist, Dr Afzanizam said the consensus estimate for Malaysia's GDP growth is expected to reach 5.8%.
The increase in GDP figures to be presented will strengthen the ringgit's position and encourage investors to be more cautious before the announcement.
The ringgit is forecast to be around RM4.43 to RM4.45 against the US dollar on Friday.
In the United States, market sentiment is relatively high risk following better than expected US data.
He also said that although the outlook for interest rate cuts is still relevant, there is growing speculation that a 25 basis point cut will be sufficient at the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in September.
Another decline of 25 basis points in December and brings the total to 50 basis points for the year.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a group of major currencies.
It slipped against the pound to 5.7246/7510 from 5.7007/7078 and was lower against the euro to 4.8851/9076 from 4.8838/8899 yesterday.
However, the ringgit rose against the Japanese yen to 2.9844/9983 from 3.0092/0132.
The local currency is trading lower than Asean currencies.
It eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.3667/3825 from 3.3657/3699, lower against the Philippine peso to 7.82/7.86 from 7.79/7.80 and slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 283.5/284.9 from 282.5/282.9 yesterday.
However, it was unchanged against the Thai baht at 12.6805/7502. – Bernama
