KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 — The ringgit finished the week easier against the US dollar on Friday as the country’s new Covid-19 infections continued to rise, coupled with the declining oil prices, a dealer said.
At 6pm, the local note stood at 4.2380/2400 versus the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.2355/2400.
The Ministry of Health today reported another record-breaking 23,564 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total infections to 1,513,024 cases.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the ringgit weakened against the US Dollar today in light of decreasing oil prices.
At press time, the benchmark Brent crude oil price fell by 0.53 per cent to US$66.10 per barrel.
“Moreover, the US dollar is at a nine-and-a-half month high, thanks to signs that the US Federal Reserve could begin asset tapering later in 2021,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Istana Negara announced that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has appointed Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the new Malaysian prime minister after gaining support from 114 Members of Parliament.
The swearing-in ceremony for the new prime minister is scheduled for 2.30pm on Saturday.
At the close, the local note was traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.
The ringgit gained versus the British pound to 5.7709/7736 from 5.7984/8046 at Thursday’s close, and strengthened vis-a-vis the euro to 4.9474/9498 compared with 4.9534/9587 yesterday.
However, the local note fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.1070/1087 from 3.1061/1099 yesterday and declined against the Japanese yen to 3.8654/8676 from 3.8617/8661 previously.
— Bernama
