Ringgit Slips Against US Dollar At The Close

By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 (Bernama) -- The ringgit slipped against the US dollar at the close on Monday, reflecting the mixed performance of regional currencies, said Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid.

At 6 pm, the local currency depreciated to 4.4765/4820 versus the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.4715/4780.

He said the US Dollar Index (DXY) has remained at an elevated level of 106 points, signalling high demand for the greenback as traders and investors sought protection against heightened uncertainties.

“It seems that the current juncture is favouring the US dollar given that the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) may want to revisit its monetary easing stance as President-elect Donald Trump lines up his Cabinet members for next year,” Mohd Afzanizam told Bernama.

The ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies, except for the British pound which strengthened to 5.6525/6594 from Friday’s close of 5.6573/6656.

It weakened against the euro to 4.7294/7352 from 4.7224/7292 and depreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.8914/8953 from 2.8774/8818.

The local unit also showed mostly lower performance against ASEAN currencies, except for the Singapore dollar, which appreciated to 3.3307/3351 from 3.3330/3381 at last Friday’s closing.

It depreciated against the Philippine peso to 7.63/7.64 from 7.61/7.63, fell against the Indonesian rupiah to 282.2/282.7 from 281.6/282.2, and slipped against the Thai baht to 12.8591/8808 from 12.8307/8541.

-- BERNAMA