The rebound is due to the expectation that the govt will address the country’s fiscal deficit in Budget 2023

THE ringgit ended the month of September slightly higher, rebounding from its recent downtrend amid mixed sentiments in the market, an analyst said.

At 6pm, the local currency improved by 20 basis points to 4.636/639 against the greenback from yesterday’s closing of 4.638/6425.

The analyst said the buying support for the ringgit is on the expectation that the government will address the country’s fiscal deficit in the Budget 2023 announcement next week, with the government possibly targeting a fiscal deficit of 4.3% of GDP next year versus 5.5% this year.

“The steady benchmark crude oil price at US$89.23 (RM413.67) per barrel, rising 0.84%, also supported the ringgit performance for today,” the analyst said.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly easier against a basket of major currencies.

The local note slipped against the British pound to 5.1728/1762 from 5.0392/0441 yesterday and declined versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2343/2368 from 3.2228/2264.

It depreciated against the Japanese yen at 3.2103/2126 from 3.205/2084 at yesterday’s closing and fell vis-a-vis the euro to 4.5428/5458 from yesterday’s 4.4951/4995. — BERNAMA / TMRpic