KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar today as the greenback remained steady against Asian currencies amid lingering concerns over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, dealers said.
At 6pm, the local currency stood at 4.2025/2060 versus the greenback from 4.1930/1975 at last Friday’s close.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said monetary policy is always relevant to markets but has taken a backseat to the cross-asset impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.
However, he said, it is worth noting that front-end rates markets are close to pricing in eight 25 basis points (bps) Federal Reserve rate hikes, that is seven in addition to last week’s 25 bps increase and this would continue to support the greenback.
“Meanwhile, China’s Covid-19 situation is weighing on regional currencies especially those with close trading ties such as the ringgit and those with strong tourist ties such as the Thai baht.
“So with risk sentiment softer due to the spread of Covid-19 in China, investors are less inclined to buy risky assets,” he told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies, except the Japanese yen.
The local unit weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.0992/1020 from 3.0924/0960 last Friday and slipped against the British pound to 5.5250/5296 from 5.5100/5159.
It eased versus the euro to 4.6463/6502 from last Friday’s close of 4.6370/6420, but improved against the yen at 3.5247/5276 from 3.5259/5300 previously.
— Bernama
