At 8am, the ringgit inched up to 4.6700/6800 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.6745/6790.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam  Rashid, noted that recent economic data also supports the rate cut thesis.

“It was reported that US retail sales were flat at 0.0% month-on-month in June, with consensus estimates pegging the growth rate at -0.3% while the previous month’s growth was 0.3%,” he added.

Despite this, the US Dollar Index (DXY) was slightly higher by 0.05% at 104.239, indicating the greenback remains well-supported.

Domestically, the ringgit traded higher against other major currencies.

It gained against the Japanese yen to 2.9493/2.9560 from 2.9503/2.9534 at Tuesday’s closing, strengthened against the British pound to 6.0603/6.0732 from 6.0614/6.0673, and improved against the euro to 5.0912/5.1021 from 5.0938/5.0987.

However, it traded mixed against Asean currencies.

It rebounded against the Singapore dollar to 3.4747/3.4827 from 3.4783/3.4819, and inched up against the Indonesian rupiah to 288.5/289.4 from 288.8/289.3.

Conversely, it depreciated against the Thai baht to 12.9683/13.0025 from 12.9459/12.9634 and remained flat against the Philippine peso at 8.00/8.02 from 8.00/8.01.