Ringgit likely to improve further next week

The ringgit is expected to improve further next week on anticipation of a weaker US economy, a dealer said.

Inter-Pacific Research Sdn Bhd Head of Research Pong Teng Siew said the ringgit which has stabilised in the recent week was expected to receive a further boost from the possibility of clearer signs of a weakening US economy.

"Signs will emerged convincingly that the US economy is in a sharp slowdown. This would put an end to any signs of interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve," he told Bernama.

He said the recent statement by the European Central Bank (ECB) president of a further quantitative easing (QE) was also expected to benefit the ringgit as more money inflows were expected to go to emerging markets.

He added that the ECB's QE statement was an indication of a weak economy in the European Union which in turn would indicate a weak outlook for US export.

For the week-just-ended, the ringgit slipped to 4.2250/2350 from 4.1700/1800 in the previous week, dampened by sustained concerns over slowing global growth continuing to hit commodity prices amid sluggish Chinese economic data.

The ringgit also ended the week mostly lower against other major currencies.

The local unit fell versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0420/0507 from 3.0124/0215 last Friday and depreciated against the yen to 3.5097/5189 from 3.4995/5094 last week.

It was also softer against the British pound at 6.5078/5244 from 6.4435/4610 but appreciated against euro at 4.7020/7144 versus 4.7371/7497 previously.