KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 1 — The ringgit closed marginally lower against the US dollar today despite the drop in new daily Covid-19 cases in Malaysia and higher oil prices, said an analyst.
At 6pm, the local note stood at 4.1535/1550 versus the greenback from Monday’s close of 4.1530/1575.
According to Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim, the higher Brent crude oil price was supported by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies’ upward revision in their 2022 oil demand forecast ahead of a meeting of the oil producing group on Wednesday.
“This revision was made amid the United States’ pressure to raise output more quickly to support the global economy,” he told Bernama.
At the time of writing, benchmark Brent crude oil gained by 0.34 per cent to US$71.87 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the local note was also traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The ringgit climbed versus the Japanese yen to 3.7663/7677 from 3.7813/7854 at Monday’s close.
However, the local note weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.0854/0867 from 3.0848/0886 on Monday, fell against the British pound to 5.7144/7164 from 5.7116/7178, and eased vis-a-vis the euro to 4.9099/9116 from 4.9001/9054.
The market was closed yesterday for the National Day celebration.
— Bernama
