The US Dollar was up 0.95% against the Ringgit on Monday and is now trading at 4.4760. The upward movement is due to the US Core Durable Goods Orders data for the month of January. The reading came in higher than expected (0.7% actual vs. 0.1% forecast) and that tends to be good for the USD. But the macroeconomic element that gave more strength to the USD was the US Pending Home Sales, which came in much higher than expected (8.1% real against 1.0% forecast). US Pending Home Sales measures the change in the number of homes under contract to be sold but still awaiting the closing transaction. As the reading was so much higher than expected, the market understood that the real estate sector is very heated, which may cause the Federal Reserve (FED) to decide to increase interest rates to contain inflation. If the FED raises interest rates, this tends to make the USD appreciate over time. From a technical standpoint USDMYR is in an important resistance region on the daily chart and touching the 200-period Moving Average underneath. This can hold the price and if USDMYR drops below 4.4300, it could drop as low as 4.3650 in a few days. On the other hand, if price continues its upward move, it could go up to the 4,5500 region.
