Malaysian Ringgit Ends Higher As Greenback Retreats

KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian ringgit closed higher against the US dollar on profit taking activities with the US Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hike seen largely priced in, dealers said. At 6 pm, the local unit was traded at 4.4460/4500 versus the greenback from 4.4520/4570 on Friday. A dealer said the Fed gave a surprisingly clear statement last Friday on interest rates hike but it was immediately factored in by the market. "After four consecutive bearish days of trading, last week, the ringgit gained today as the greenback pulled back on profit taking. "This is because the expected interest rate hike by the Fed, next week, was already factiored in," he said. He added that the Fed's meeting, scheduled for March 14-15, had caused investors interest to shift towards the greenback much earlier, a common phenomena in the foreign exchange market. However, against other major currencies, the ringgit finished lower. The local note fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.1534/1565 from 3.1470/1523 last week and versus the yen, it declined to 3.9103/1148 from 3.8960/8018. The ringgit depreciated against the euro to 4.7136/7183 from 4.6817/6883 and eased against the British pound to 5.4504/4570 from 5.4439/4514 last Friday. -- BERNAMA