FX Ringgit : Week ending Friday, 18 June 2010

[HIDDEN]

hi,

Just like last week, I don't have a copy of The Star as I'm still in Singapore, and Starbizweek FX reports aren't online. So it's just the Bernama report for the Week ending Friday, 18th June 2010 :


18 June, 2010 18:38 PM : FOREX: Ringgit Ends Higher On Positive Sentiment
KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 (Bernama) -- The Ringgit ended higher at 3.2490/2530 against the US dollar Friday from 3.2640/2670 previously, prompted by positive sentiment which emerged after Spanish government bond auctions Thursday, dealers said.

Commercial buying of other currencies in the morning saw late interest emerging for the ringgit in the afternoon.

The local unit gained momentum thereafter touching a high of 3.2460 and a low of 3.2640 throughout the day.

Against other major currencies, the ringgit was traded lower.

It eased against the Singapore dollar to 2.3423/3474, slipped against the Japanese yen to 3.5813/5862, depreciated against the Euro to 4.0258/0318 and fell against the British pound to 4.8313/8379.
End of Article
BERNAMA


19 June, 2010 : Treasury Pulse/Global Foreign Exchange Market :
Here's a Star article giving an overall summary of world FX for the past week.

"Weeks of heightened volatility in the foreign exchange market prompted South Korea and Indonesia to introduce controls to reduce the adverse implications of uncontrolled speculative capital flows. Banks in South Korea will now be required to rein in the use of currency forwards, options and swaps within three months to comply with a regulatory limit. In Indonesia, a minimum one-month holding period for short-term central bank bills is imposed to prevent excessive speculations on its currency.

The week witnessed a recovery in investors’ risk appetite following a positive indication by Moody’s that most major banks in the EU passed its “stress test”. Moody’s test gauged the banks’ exposure to debt in Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland. Its results showed that more than 30 EU banks were capable of absorbing losses without requiring additional capital even under worse-than-expected conditions with average regulatory capital ratio registering well above 9% . . . "
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/19/business/6501671&sec=business


. . . and . . .


19 June, 2010 : Inflation – should we start worrying?
Well, like the author of this article (Cecilia Kok) you can worry but there isn't much else you can do.

"LAST week, a report from World Bank warned of the re-emergence of inflationary pressures in Asian economies that could complicate the region’s prevailing policy stances to support growth. Consumer prices have been on the rise in the region’s economies since the beginning of the year, as economic activity starts picking up across the region. For instance, in the two largest Asian economies – China and India – inflation have already accelerated over the last two months.

In China, consumer price index in May rose 3.1% from a year earlier, compared with April’s 2.8% rate, while property prices rose 12.4% from a year earlier. This has prompted World Bank to urge China to raise interest rates to curb the country’s rising inflationary pressure and soaring property prices.

In India, on the other hand, inflation hit a two-year high last month, with wholesale price index rising 10.16% from a year earlier, compared with the 9.59% rate in April, as higher food and fuel prices continued to drive overall costs up. Local key government officers over the week said India’s inflation rate had reached “very uncomfortable” levels and that the central bank had to step in to curb the pressure.

Singapore’s consumer prices jumped 3.2% in April, and are expected to rise around 2.7% in May, while Indonesia’s inflation rate has already exceeded the 4% mark since last month.

In Malaysia, the numbers have yet to show any worrying sign, as the country’s inflation rate seems to be well on target. Figures from the Department of Statistics show that consumer price index (CPI) for May rose at a tame rate of 1.6% from a year ago, almost matching the April’s rise of 1.5% . . . "
http://www.starproperty.my/PropertyScene/TheStarOnlineHighlightBox/5323/0/0