- January 13, 2023
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Economy
THE ringgit steadied near its strongest level in nearly 10 months against the US dollar after softer US inflation data drove up bets that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will be less aggressive with its rate hikes soon.
At 6pm, the ringgit strengthened to 4.3325/3375 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.3570/3615.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes told Bernama that the broader inflows are driving sentiment today after the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) hurdle was cleared.
He said the CPI headline index declined 0.1%, chopping the yearly pace to 6.5%, and barring some unexpected turns, the Fed will surely downshift to 25 basis points rate increments early next month.
Alongside the softening headline CPI print, investors are also digesting better than expected weekly jobless claims, which extends the recent trend of data points indicating continued strength in the US labour market, Innes said.
The weekly initial jobless…
