27 March FX for the Ringgit

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hi,

FX reports for the ringgit for the week ending 27th March 2010. There is no Ambankresearch report in today's The Star so it's just the general reports :


Foreign Exchange
GBP/USD open 1.4989 close 1.4826
EUR/USD open 1.3555 close 1.3376
USD/JPY open 90.53 close 92.57
USD/CHF open 1.0603 close 1.0682

The USD rose across the board in a week where sovereign credit worries in Europe led to a general risk aversion driving investors to flock to the perceived safety of the greenback.

Uncertainty over aid to Greece, despite a potential aid package with euro-zone and International Monetary Fund sharing the load, continued to weigh on the single currency. Investors took the view that if the IMF took the lead in the bailing out of Greece it would reflect negatively on Europe's ability to handle its own problems.

Rating downgrade for Portugal further added to the concerns about debt worries in the other smaller countries in the euro-zone. Coupled with lacklustre economic growth in the region, the european Central Bank would likely hold interest rates at current low levels until well into next year.

Meanwhile Federal Reserve Chairman in testimony before the US House of Representatives maintained that the modest recovery in the US economy still warrants ultra-low interest rate policy but he indicated that the Fed stands ready to remove the stimulus once expansion looks solid.

USD/MYR open 3.3040 close 3.3080
GBP/MYR open 4.9524 close 4.9044
EUR/MYR open 4.4786 close 4.4248
JPY/MYR open 3.6496 close 3.5735
CHF/MYR open 3.1161 close 3.0968

The ringgit fel to a low of 3.3280/USD during the week in line with USD strenght across the board. However the lower levels attracted buying of the local unit by investors ahead of the unveilingof the new economic model by the PM on March 30.
Starbizweek


27 March 2010 : FOREX: Ringgit To Test 3.2940 Level Next Week
KUALA LUMPUR -- The ringgit is poised to test the 3.2940 level next week as dealers remain bullish over its immediate outlook. RHB Bank dealer, Badee Utin Mohd Abu Bakar, said the ringgit was likely to appreciate in line with other currencies if the European Union summit ended on a positive note. "The local unit has been trading between 3.2940 and 3.3300 range since March 10, 2010," he said.

He said the release of US jobs report for March next week was also expected to have an impact on the greenbank.
"The report will indicate the greenback's development and whether it will continue to rise," Badee said.

The local unit closed mixed to easier this week. Friction between US and China over the yuan, Greece's debt issue and Portugal's credit rate downgrade affected the foreign exchange market this week.

For the week just-ended, the ringgit closed easier at 3.3050/3080 against the US dollar from 3.3020/3050 last Friday. Against other major currencies, it appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.3526/3570 from 2.3653/3697 last week and rose against the yen to 3.5707/5743 from 3.6486/6544 previously.

It gained against the pound sterling to 4.9016/9081 from 4.9996/5.0051 last week and rose against the euro to 4.4185/4235 from 4.4861/4905 previously.
Bernama

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hi,

An article from The Star newspaper :

01 April, 2010 : Market up on stronger Ringgit
PETALING JAYA: The ringgit outperformed all other currencies in the region in the first quarter, propelled by a strong rebound in the economy and the Government’s increased effort to attract foreign investors.

At 3.2638 against the US dollar yesterday, the ringgit was at its strongest level versus the greenback since August 2008.

Year to date it had risen 4.75%.

“The momentum is there for the ringgit, but further appreciation may not be as fast as what we had seen in the past weeks,’’ CIMB Group’s regional and foreign exchange strategist Suresh Ramanathan said.

The ringgit surged 4.1% against the US dollar in March alone, after Bank Negara on March 4 raised its key overnight policy rate for the first time in almost four years.

Another factor that had been driving up the ringgit is speculation that China will de-peg the yuan. Official government data showed China overtook Singapore as the country’s biggest export market in January.

The ringgit was officially de-pegged from the US dollar, but remains tied to a basket of undisclosed currencies.

Some investors believe that increased trade ties with China means the yuan weightage in the local currency basket would increase.

The ringgit’s recent strength had also rubbed off on the local stock market, with the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KL Composite Index up 3.75% during the first quarter at yesterday’s close of 1,320 points.
End of Article

I noticed yesterday that GBP was down to 4.88 to the ringgit. I think that it's now at 4.96. The S$ has also fallen against the ringgit from 2.3950 about 3 weeks ago to currently 2.3150. I know this as I'm needing to change some S$ next week, ain't it always the same.   

The S$ is now at GBP 2.12, it was 2.08 recently and this is the lowest that I've noticed it in 20 years. I may have missed some other "lows" but I'm noticing this one. Against the EUR, the GBP is about 1.12 which is where it was when I changed some EUR into GBP in March 2009.