Ringgit climbs as Trump ramps up pressure on Fed to cut interest rates

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended its gains against the greenback at the close on Wednesday, as US President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to cut interest rates.

AI Brief

Trump considers naming a new Fed chair early, seen as pressuring Jerome Powell to cut interest rates sooner.
The US Dollar Index fell, reflecting uncertainty over Fed leadership and monetary policy direction.
The Malaysian ringgit weakened against major global and ASEAN currencies amid Fed uncertainty and dollar volatility.

It has been reported that Trump is considering naming a new Fed chairman early, a move seen as undermining the current chairman, Jerome Powell, who has been reluctant to cut interest rates as demanded by the US president.

At 6 pm, the local note inched up to 4.2300/2355 versus the greenback from Wednesday's close of 4.2335/2405.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said news of Trump's intention to name the next Fed chair early caused the US Dollar Index (DXY) to fall 0.60 per cent to 97.093 points. "It remains to be seen how this can be made possible as the current chairman's term will end in May next year. Despite that, the underlying tone is about pressing the Fed to lower the Fed funds rate as soon as possible," he told Bernama.

At the close, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies and ASEAN countries.

It depreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.9359/9399 from 2.9070/9120, slid versus the British pound to 5.8141/8217 from 5.7631/7726, and slid against the euro to 4.9597/9661 from 4.9113/9194 yesterday.

Against its ASEAN peers, the ringgit declined vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.3192/3240 from 3.3061/3121, and dipped against the Thai baht to 13.0254/0488 from 12.9584/9858 at Wednesday's close.

It eased against the Indonesian rupiah to 260.9/261.4 from 259.7/260.2, and slipped against the Philippine peso to 7.47/7.49 from 7.46/7.48, previously.

-- BERNAMA