Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) was up 0.13% to 97.906 points ahead of the US CPI report.

“Consensus estimates pegged the US August CPI at 2.9% from 2.7% (in July) while the core CPI is expected to be sustained at 3.1%.

“This would be critical data before the US federal open market committee members reconvene next week on Sept 16-17, with the futures market having put a (high) probability of a 25 basis points cut next week,” he told Bernama.

Afzanizam said he expects the ringgit to maintain its narrow range trade in the near-term.

Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes noted that a stronger-than-expected CPI reading could push yields higher and spark a temporary rebound in the US dollar.

“Many had taken short-dollar bets following the US payroll revisions and weaker (producer price index) data last night, only to be caught off guard.

“The unwinding of those trades is proving to be just as supportive for the greenback as new buying,” he added.

At 6pm, the local note was little changed at 4.2185/4.2240 from yesterday’s close of 4.2185/4.2220.

At the close, the ringgit was higher against a basket of major currencies.

It gained against the euro to 4.9293/4.9357 from 4.9416/4.9457, climbed up versus the yen to 2.8509/2.8548 from 2.8614/2.8639, and advanced vis-à-vis the pound to 5.6954/5.7028 from 5.7127/5.7174 yesterday.

The local note was also mostly higher against Asean currencies.

It inched up versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2829/3.2874 from 3.2883/3.2912, rose against the baht to 13.2432/13.2663 from 13.2699/13.2872, and edged up against the peso to 7.37/7.39 from 7.38/7.39 previously.

However, the ringgit eased marginally vis-à-vis the rupiah to 256.2/256.7 from 256.1/256.4.