Tuesday, January 01, 2008

10-years high for ringgit malaysia

By Biz Times

The ringgit ended 2007 at a 10-year high against the greenback at close yesterday on strong commercial demand, particularly from foreign funds, dealers said.

The ringgit strengthened to 3.3090/3140 compared to Friday's closing of 3.3160/3210.

Dealers said the ringgit gained momentum on the back of speculation that the US will implement another interest rate cut to revive its economy.

"The upward trend reflects the strengthening of Malaysia's economic fundamentals, plus the weakening of the US dollar due to the subprime mortgage crisis," one of the dealers said.

The greenback also lost its appeal following the release of bearish US home sales data which raised concerns about the US economy and reinforced the expectations of another interest rate cut.

The Commerce Department on Friday reported that new home sales fell nine per cent in November from October.

The dealer said the uptrend showed the optimism of local and foreign funds in the future of the ringgit and the domestic economy.

The ringgit was lower against the Singapore dollar at 2.3008/3059 from Friday's close of 2.2906/2943 and declined against yen at 2.9524/9573 from 2.9270/9301.

The ringgit appreciated against British pound at 6.6058/6167 compared to Friday's close of 6.6177/6250 and declined against euro at 4.8672/8756 from 4.8583/8663.