Ringgit Closes Lower Against US Dollar

By Zufazlin Baharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 (Bernama) --  The ringgit ended lower against US dollar at the close despite the lower US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data last night, indicating that lower inflation will enable the US Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates.

At 6 pm, the ringgit slid to 4.4350/4405 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.4170/4235.

The US CPI in July came in lower at 2.9 per cent on a yearly basis from three per cent in June.  

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit has gained considerably against the greenback ever since signals for the rate cut in the US has gained momentum.

Yesterday, ringgit closed at its strongest level in 16 months after it revisited the 4.41 level.

“Plus, the anticipation for a strong second quarter 2024 Gross Domestic Product in Malaysia to be announced tomorrow has resulted in traders to be more sanguine on the prospect of further appreciation in the ringgit.

“Nonetheless, currency movement is not linear and they are subject to market volatility as traders might want to realise some profits,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It went down versus the Japanese yen to 3.0092/0132 from 3.0027/0073 at yesterday’s close, depreciated against the British pound to 5.7007/7078 from 5.6754/6838 and weakened vis-a-vis the euro to  4.8838/8899 from 4.8684/8756 previously.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against ASEAN currencies.

The local note dropped versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3657/3699 from 3.3582/3634 at Wednesday’s close and was lower against the Philippine peso at 7.79/7.80 compared with 7.75/7.77 previously.

It also declined versus the Indonesian rupiah to 282.5/282.9 from 281.7/282.3 yesterday and slipped vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.6805/7013 from 12.6399/6668 previously.

-- BERNAMA