RINGGIT ENDS LOWER VERSUS US DOLLAR

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 (Bernama) -- The ringgit ended lower against the greenback on Friday as the US Dollar Index (DXY) rebounded above 105 points and as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) left its key interest rate unchanged, said an analyst.

At 6.01 pm, the ringgit dropped to 4.7190/7225 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.7070/7110.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the focus today was on the BOJ monetary policy decision and that the markets appeared to be disappointed with the lack of details by the Japanese central bank on its quantitative tightening plans.

“The US dollar/Japanese yen pair went up to more than 158 yen before settling around 157.75 yen. The latest BOJ decision would certainly be US dollar positive as the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is seen to be the only major central bank not in a hurry to cut rates,” he told Bernama. 

He said the DXY rose 0.29 per cent to 105.503 points and consequently the ringgit remained weak.

At the close, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

The local unit appreciated against the euro to 5.0418/0455 from Thursday’s close of 5.0840/0884, strengthened vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.9955/9999 from 6.0160/0211 but slid versus the Japanese yen to 3.0046/0072 from 2.9945/9972 previously.

The ringgit traded mostly higher against its Asean peers. 

It went up vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 287.5/287.8 from 289.2/289.6 at Thursday’s close, inched up versus the Thai baht to 12.8328/8475 from 12.8386/8540 and edged up against the Singapore dollar to 3.4857/4886 from 3.4887/4920 previously.  However, it was lower against the Philippine peso at 8.04/8.05 from 8.03/8.04 previously.

-- BERNAMA