Kuala lumpur: The ringgit is anticipated to hold steady, trading in the 4.10-4.12 range against the US dollar in the coming week. This stability is expected to be supported by the market's anticipation of an interest rate reduction by the US Federal Reserve during its forthcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's chief economist, Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, indicated that a majority of traders and investors are forecasting a 25-basis-point cut by the Fed at the meeting scheduled for December 9-10. "The focus next week will be on the FOMC meeting and, more importantly, the policy guidance, especially their latest quarterly projections on macroeconomic variables, particularly the federal funds rate and inflation forecast," Dr. Mohd Afzanizam told Bernama.

Earlier in the week, the local currency remained flat on Monday before showing strength from Tuesday through Friday. Notably, the ringgit reached the 4.11 mark on Thursday, marking its strongest level in over four years. On a weekly basis, the ringgit showed gains against the greenback, closing higher at 4.1105/1140 compared to the previous week's 4.1300/1350.

While the ringgit gained against the US dollar, it traded lower against a selection of major currencies. It weakened against the yen, moving to 2.6536/6561 from 2.6420/6456, slid versus the euro to 4.7912/7953 from 4.7768/7825, and slipped against the British pound to 5.4859/4905 from last week's 5.4528/4594.

In contrast, the ringgit generally trended higher against its ASEAN counterparts. It appreciated against the Indonesian rupiah to 246.8/247.2 from 247.6/248.0 the previous week, increased against the Singapore dollar to 3.1741/1773 from 3.1813/1857, and was higher against the Philippine peso at 6.97/6.98 from 7.04/7.06. However, the local currency experienced a decrease against the Thai baht, moving to 12.9054/9221 from 12.8245/8472 a week earlier.