KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended yesterday’s losses to close lower against the US dollar today, as it continues to experience technical correction after appreciating over the last three trading days, said an analyst.
At 6 pm, the ringgit slipped to 4.6800/6860 against the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.6675/6725.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit appreciated quite significantly on Monday following the latest job reports in the United States (US).
He foresees that markets may reassess the future stance of the US Federal Reserve as the journey towards the two per cent inflation goal might take some time to materialise.
“There are also important deadlines such as the possible US government shutdown on Nov 17.
“In that sense, the possibility for a risk-off mode to prevail in the immediate terms could also drive higher demand for the US dollar,” Mohd Afzanizam told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit was traded mostly lower versus a basket of major currencies.
It eased against the Japanese yen to 3.1045/1087 from 3.1026/1061 at Tuesday’s close, decreased versus the euro to 4.9917/9981 from 4.9863/9916 but strengthened against the British pound to 5.7321/7394 from 5.7415/7476.
Against other Asean currencies, it depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.4493/4540 from 3.4444/4483 on Tuesday and shrank against the Thai baht to 13.1453/1670 from 13.1154/1346 previously.
It was also down against the Philippine peso to 8.35/8.37 from 8.31/8.33 and slipped vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 298.9/299.5 from 298.4/298.9 at the close on Tuesday. – Bernama
