Kuala lumpur: The ringgit is poised to march stronger next week after the United States (US) Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell hinted at a potential interest rate cut in September. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the USDMYR might attempt to break the psychological level of 4.20 next week, following Powell's remark at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium last night.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the US dollar index (DXY) tumbled along with the US Treasury yields as Powell signaled that the restrictive monetary policy stance might need to be realigned to support economic growth. Consequently, investors increased bets on a rate cut at the Federal Open Market Committee's September 16-17 meeting.

Next week, investors will also be monitoring data from the US Conference Board consumer confidence, which measures the level of consumer confidence in economic activity, as well as the personal consumption expenditures price index, known for capturing inflation or deflation across a wide range of consumer expenses, Dr. Mohd Afzanizam noted.

Meanwhile, on a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit ended the week lower against the greenback, closing at 4.2245/2295 versus 4.2085/2155 previously. The local note traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

The ringgit appreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.8408/8443 from 2.8653/8702 the previous week, rose versus the euro to 4.8996/9054 from 4.9185/9267, and strengthened against the British pound to 5.6659/6726 from 5.7050/7145.

The ringgit also trended firmer against ASEAN currencies. The local note improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.2763/2805 from 3.2820/2877 at the end of last week, gained versus the Indonesian rupiah to 258.3/258.7 from 260.2/260.8 previously, and inched up versus the Thai baht to 12.9387/9592 from 12.9760/13.0032 in the previous week. However, the ringgit slipped against the Philippine peso to 7.42/7.43 from 7.37/7.39 in the preceding week.