Ringgit seen staying soft at RM4.13–RM4.15 against US dollar this week

Malaysia’s ringgit is expected to remain under pressure this week, trading in a RM4.13–RM4.15 range versus the US dollar. The outlook reflects continued market expectations of a possible 25basispoint US Federal Reserve rate hike later this year, which has supported the dollar and weighed on regional currencies, including the ringgit. Last week, the ringgit weakened from 4.0555/0600 to 4.1340/1395 and also fell against the pound, yen, euro and major ASEAN currencies.