FOREX:Ringgit Likely To Be Rangebound Against US Dollar Next Week

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- The ringgit is likely to be rangebound next week, as window-dressing activities continue to boost the strength of the local currency, dealers said.

A currency dealer from a local bank said the ringgit would likely trade within the range of 3.53 to 3.60 against the US dollar.

Inspite of weak prospects of economic growth for the Malaysian economy, he said, there could be an upside for the ringgit towards the end of the year with increasing demand for the local currency.

"As more companies exchange foreign currency for the ringgit in order to balance their year-end accounts, the ringgit could be boosted further," he said.

However, for the long term, he explained that the ringgit would likely be on a declining trend next year, underlying the weaker growth prospects of the Malaysian economy due to the global slowdown.

It is anticipated that falling commodity prices and a slowdown in global demand would put pressure on Malaysian exports next year.

During the week, the ringgit was mostly higher against the US dollar in line with the strengthening of Asian currencies against the US dollar.

Increasing demand for Asian assets saw the Korean won and rupiah gaining sharply against the US dollar on Wednesday.

However, on Friday, the ringgit closed sharply lower against the US dollar as Asian currencies weakened against the greenback with investors taking a cautious stance amid uncertainty in the US auto bailout plans while anticipating a possible negative impact on the global automotive sector.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit strenghtened against the greenback at 3.5800/5850 from 3.6330/6360 quoted at last Friday's closing.

The ringgit however, was easier against Asian currencies, lower against the Singapore dollar at 2.3963/4015 from last Friday's closing of 2.3929/3980 and weaker against the yen at 3.9619/9697 from 3.9447/9514 previously.

Against the British pound, however, the ringgit was higher at 5.3188/3284 from 5.3478/3566 previously and lower against the euro at 4.7539/7620 from 4.6457/6516.

-- BERNAMA

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