Selangor Journal

Ringgit settles lower on external factor

KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — The ringgit ended lower and reached the 4.30-level against the US dollar on Friday, a level last seen in June 2020.

At 6pm, the local note eased further to 4.3230/3270 versus the greenback from 4.2875/2910 on Thursday’s close.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Federal Reserve was the usual suspect for causing the extreme volatility as it is planning for a more aggressive interest rate hike campaign in early May.

“In the equities market space, we also saw some foreign selling activities, suggesting that the weaker ringgit was also being caused by the foreign selling,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, the ringgit also traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It fell further against the Singapore dollar to 3.1633/1667 from 3.1496/1524 on Thursday and slipped versus the Japanese yen to 3.3652/3686 from 3.3478/3508 previously.

The local currency gained vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.5641/5693 from 5.6003/6049 on Thursday and was a tad higher against the euro to 4.6710/6753 from 4.6794/6832.

— Bernama

 

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Editor Selangor Journal