The US Dollar was up +0.39% against the Ringgit on Tuesday and is now trading at 4.6330, the highest price in the last 30 days. The upward movement is due to the release of Core Retail Sales data for the month of July, which came in much higher than expected (+1% actual against -0.3% forecast). This indicator measures the change in the total value of sales at the retail level in the US, excluding automobiles. As the reading came in higher than expected, the market interpreted that the American economy is heated, and this could put pressure on the Federal Reserve (FED) to adopt more restrictive monetary policies over the coming months. The Retail Sales indicator, which measures the change in the total value of sales at the retail level, also came in better than expected (0.7% actual versus 0.4% forecast), boosting the USD appreciation even further. From a technical point of view, USDMYR needs to break above 4.6350 to continue the bullish move. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator shows a reading of 63.34 on the daily chart, signalling that the USDMYR has the strength to continue rising towards the 4.6900 region in a few weeks.
