FOREX: ringgit likely to strengthen against US dollar next week

The ringgit is likely to see positive movement against the greenback next week with trade around the 3.00 level, prompted by sustained buying interest, especially from local traders, dealers said. He said the market will have a positive breath, as investors see a huge inflow of Asian currencies. "Major central banks such as the Bank of Japan have eased their monetary policy, which helped increase global liquidity," he added. Affin Investment Bank head of retail research, Dr Nazri Khan said, buying appetite will also be prompted by external cues, like the near-term catalyst of the European Central Bank's 530 billion euro liquidity boost. However, he said the stronger than expected oil price can be a bad influence on the market, in the midst of fragile global economies, giving an excuse for investors to shy away from riskier assets. On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit traded higher against the US dollar at 3.0030/0060 from 3.0100/0150 but declined against the Singapore dollar to 2.4007/4036 from 2.3988/4035. The local unit was up against the Japanese yen to 3.6815/6865 from 3.7350/7426 but weakened against the British pound at 4.7772/7828 from 4.7480/7577 last week. The ringgit strengthened against the euro to 3.9781/9826 from 4.0313/0395 last Friday.