BERNAMA – The ringgit is expected to be one of the best-performing currencies in the region in 2024, with it ending the year at MYR4.40 against the US dollar, said the Affin Group.
Its chief economist Alan Tan Chew Leong said the ringgit would be lifted by the prospect of easing interest rates globally, as well as the country’s strong current account surplus, sound fiscal discipline and lower inflation domestically.
Tan said the ringgit’s appreciation will be market-determined as investor sentiment improves amid the country’s strengthening economic fundamentals with possible favourable assessments by sovereign rating agencies.
The expectation of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve would further support the ringgit, he added.
Tan expects Bank Negara Malaysia to keep the overnight policy rate unchanged for the rest of this year given a higher-for-longer interest rate environment in the United States, with the Fed starting to cut the key rate by 25 basis points in its September meeting, followed by more cuts in November and December, by a total of 50 basis points.
