Ringgit Continues Uptrend

KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 (Bernama) – The ringgit continued its uptrend at close Wednesday on better demand and market expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) would leave interest rates unchanged for now, given the unfavourable economic data for the country. At 6 pm, the local note was quoted at 4.3170/3210 against the greenback from 4.3260/3300 Tuesday. ForexTime Ltd Chief Market Strategist Hussein Sayed said investors across different asset classes are eager to know the Fed's next move as US equities sit at record highs, while the US dollar is close to November 2016 lows and treasury yields on a downtrend. "The question today is not whether the Fed will hike rates or otherwise, but if it would acknowledge a weak first quarter. "It is very important to realise that US data has seen more deterioration than improvement since the Fed last met on March 14-15 this year,” he said in a note here. At close, the ringgit was traded higher against most major currencies. It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0922/0970 from 3.1015/1055 and was higher against the Japanese yen at 3.8473/8518 from 3.8539/8585 yesterday. The ringgit improved against the British pound to 5.5728/5788 from 5.5827/5896 and advanced against the euro to 4.7094/7142 from 4.7227/7279. -- BERNAMA