KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — The ringgit continued to close lower against the US dollar today in reaction to a higher US dollar index (DXY).
At 6pm, the local note fell to 4.5250/5275 versus the greenback from Tuesday’s closing rate of 4.4975/5005.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit weakened after the DXY increased 0.4 per cent to 102.96 points from 102.56 points.
He said the latest jobless rate for United Kingdom’s (UK) economy suggested that its labour market is softening as the unemployment rate rose further to 3.9 per cent in March from 3.8 per cent previously, representing a second month of increase after maintaining the rate at 3.7 per cent for several months.
“This may imply the Bank of England will be less hawkish as restrictive monetary policy has taken a toll on the UK economy.
“This may have provided a boost to the US dollar as global growth looks set to weaken.
“So risk aversion is dominating the forex market, leading to higher demand for safe haven currencies,” he told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It depreciated against the euro to 4.9006/9033 from 4.8991/9024 at the close on Tuesday, increased vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.6300/6331 versus 5.6367/6405, and improved against the Japanese yen to 3.3039/3060 from 3.3126/3150 previously.
The local note traded mostly lower against Asean currencies.
It strengthened vis-à-vis the Thai baht to 13.2059/2182 from 13.2400/2547 at Tuesday’s close, while it fell against the Indonesian rupiah to 304.2/304.6 from 303.4/303.8.
The ringgit slid to 3.3659/3686 against the Singapore dollar compared with 3.3659/3686 yesterday and was lower against the Philippine peso at 8.05/8.06 from 8.02/8.06.
— Bernama
