KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — The ringgit inched higher against the US dollar at Thursday’s close, supported by the stable inflation data.

At 6pm, the local note was at 4.3455/3510 against the greenback compared with Wednesday’s close of 4.3490/3535.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the September 2024 consumer price index (CPI) of 1.8 per cent indicates that inflation has remained relatively stable for now, suggesting that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is likely to maintain its current monetary policy in the near term.

"Meanwhile, the US dollar remains in high demand as concerns over the upcoming United States presidential election continue to influence market sentiment, causing traders to adopt a more risk-averse stance,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the ringgit was mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

It increased vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6331/6402 from 5.6433/6491 yesterday, but inched down against the Japanese yen to 2.8589/8627 from 2.8484/8516 at Wednesday’s close and slipped against the euro to 4.6918/6978 from 4.6887/6935 previously.

At the same time, the ringgit traded mixed versus Asean currencies.

It appreciated against the Philippines’ peso to 7.49/7.51 from 7.50/7.52 at the close on Wednesday and edged up against the Singapore dollar at 3.2928/2972 from 3.2932/2969 yesterday.

However, the local currency eased against the Indonesian rupiah to 278.8/279.3 from 278.2/278.7 yesterday and fell against the Thai baht to 12.9031/9259 from 12.8959/9149 previously. — Bernama