Malaysian Ringgit Ends Marginally Higher Against US Dollar

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian ringgit ended marginally higher against the US dollar Friday, boosted by mild buying at the end of the trading day, a dealer said. At 6 pm, the ringgit stood at 4.1920/1960 versus the greenback compared with 4.1940/1980 recorded at Thursday's close. “Traders are currently trading in a cautious mode and are basically placing their bets everywhere to play safe. This includes the local currency,” the dealer said. He said the future of the greenback remained volatile with the US Federal Reserve (Fed) aiming for another interest rate hike in December. It will be the fourth rate hike to be imposed by the Fed if the decision goes through, but the questions raised among investors are how many more rate hikes can the Fed possibly apply next year without risking a weaker domestic economy. “This will likely impact the trading of other currencies,” the dealer added. Against a basket of emerging currencies, the ringgit was traded mixed. It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0489/0530 from 3.0526/0560 and increased versus the euro to 4.7680/7730 from 4.7824/7874. Meanwhile, vis-a-vis the yen, it declined to 3.7150/7189 from 3.7131/7177 yesterday and depreciated to 5.3855/3927 from 5.3629/3705 when compared with the British pound. -- BERNAMA