Ringgit Ends Lower Vs US Dollar As External Factors Weigh

By Rosemarie Khoo

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 (Bernama) -- The ringgit ended lower on Tuesday on the continued expectation of a slower pace of US interest rate cuts, China’s cooling economy and heightened geopolitical risks in the Middle East, said an analyst. 

At 6 pm, the local currency was traded at 4.3255/3305 against the greenback compared with Monday’s close of 4.3045/3100.  

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said all factors seemed to work in favour of the safe haven US dollar amid a downtrend in global interest rates.

“Despite that, Malaysia’s promising economic outlook and a strong commitment by the government to reduce the fiscal deficit would result in better assessment by the credit rating agencies. This could translate into more inflows from foreign funds,” he told Bernama. 

Domestically, the Malaysian economy continued to show a positive performance, with third quarter gross domestic product advance estimates indicating a 5.3 per cent growth.

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

It edged up against the Japanese yen to 2.8668/8704 from 2.8685/8724 on Monday's close but slipped against the euro to 4.6785/6839 from 4.6687/6746 and decreased vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6097/6162 from 5.6040/6112 yesterday.

The ringgit traded mostly lower versus ASEAN currencies.

It depreciated against the Thai baht to 12.9089/9300 from 12.8719/8945, weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.2879/2919 from 3.2776/2821 and eased against the Indonesian rupiah to 277.8/278.3 from 277.6/278.1 previously. It was marginally better against the Philippine peso at  7.47/7.49 from 7.48/7.49 on Monday’s close.

-- BERNAMA