KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 — The ringgit snapped its three-day gaining streak to end lower against the US dollar today amid lingering uncertainty over the global banking system, said an analyst.
At 6pm, the local note declined to 4.5005/5055 versus the greenback from Wednesday’s closing rate of 4.4810/4870.
The analyst noted that the Asian foreign exchange (forex) markets were affected by the uncertainty stemming from the concerns about the financial health of one of the largest banks in the world, Credit Suisse, and its ongoing issues.
In the meantime, he said the market is now attentive to any statement by the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) regarding its monetary policy for the upcoming months.
“The next interest rate decision will only take place next Wednesday and it is possible that the market will be a little caged until then,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the local note was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It fell versus the British pound to 5.4330/4390 from 5.4292/4364 at Wednesday’s close and weakened against the Japanese yen to 3.3866/3909 from 3.3405/3453, but appreciated vis-à-vis the euro to 4.7777/7830 from 4.7853/7917 previously.
Similarly, the local currency was also traded lower against its Asean counterparts.
The ringgit depreciated against the Thai baht to 13.0737/0947 from 12.9415/9675 yesterday and fell against the Indonesian rupiah to 292.30/292.90 from 291.20/291.80.
The local note declined versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3399/3438 from 3.3291/3341 on Wednesday and was lower against the Philippine peso to 8.20/8.21 from 8.15/8.17 previously.
— Bernama
