KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — The ringgit declined further to end lower against the US dollar today following the strengthening of the greenback amid global economic uncertainty, said an economist.
At 6pm, the local note fell to 4.5365/5395 versus the greenback from yesterday’s closing rate of 4.5250/5275.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar continued to appreciate as the currency market may not be convinced that the United States (US) debt ceiling stalemate could be addressed in a timely manner.
“As the narratives of restrictive monetary policy would take a toll on the global economy, it could also result in risk aversion (to remain visible), leading to higher demand for the US dollar.
“We think the foreign exchange market is preoccupied with the US debt ceiling debacle amid concerns on weakening global growth,” he told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It weakened vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.6452/6490 versus 5.6300/6331 at the close on Wednesday and eased against the euro to 4.9076/9108 from 4.9006/9033 yesterday, but rose against the Japanese yen to 3.2926/2950 from 3.3039/3060 previously.
Similarly, the local note was traded lower against Asean currencies.
It was lower versus the Indonesian rupiah to 305.0/305.4 from 304.2/304.6 at Wednesday’s close and declined to 3.3724/3748 against the Singapore dollar from 3.3693/3714 yesterday.
The ringgit slipped against the Philippine peso to 8.11/8.13 from 8.05/8.06 and slid vis-à-vis the Thai baht to 13.2105/2247 from 13.2059/2182 previously.
— Bernama
