KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar today as investors remained in cautious mode over the uncertainty of the country’s political development, a dealer said.
At 6pm, the local note stood at 4.2370/2380 versus the greenback from Monday’s close of 4.2350/2390.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim told Bernama that the ringgit experienced some depreciation against the greenback today as investors await the decision on who will be Malaysia’s next prime minister.
He said the weaker ringgit was also affected by the declining Brent crude oil price.
“Expectations that major producers will not boost supply any time soon were outweighed by worries over slowing demand amid a spike in the Delta variant of Covid-19 infections,” he said.
At press time, the benchmark Brent crude oil price fell 0.32 per cent to US$69.29 per barrel.
Meanwhile, ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the Malaysian economy and ringgit may struggle to regain its footing over the next few months.
“Looking ahead this week, investors will be paying attention to Malaysia’s Consumer Price Index, which could provide valuable insight into the country’s economic situation and inflation,” he said.
At the close, the local note was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
The ringgit rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1182/1192 from 3.1227/1259 at Monday’s close, gained against the British pound to 5.8462/8476 from 5.8680/8736, and strengthened vis-a-vis the euro at 4.9874/9885 compared to 4.9893/9940
However, the unit eased against the Japanese yen to 3.3.8768/8778 from 3.8732/8769 previously.
— Bernama
