Ringgit Ends Three-Day Rally, Closes Lower

By Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- The ringgit snapped its three-day winning streak to close lower against the US dollar as well as other major and regional currencies on Wednesday, amid profit-taking by traders.

At 6 pm, the local note eased to 4.1360/1385 against the US dollar, down from yesterday’s close of 4.1300/1345.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that the local note started on a stronger footing at RM4.1258 versus the greenback in the early morning session today.

"Later in the day, it depreciated to RM4.1350; some profit-taking activities among the traders probably weighed down market sentiment," he told Bernama.

However, Mohd Afzanizam said the US Dollar Index (DXY) has mostly stayed below 100 points, as expectations of a United States rate cut in December gain traction amid weak economic data, including softer Retail Sales and Consumer Confidence.

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

It eased against the yen to 2.6438/6456 from 2.6420/6451 at Tuesday's close, depreciated against the British pound to 5.4492/4525 from 5.4235/4294 yesterday and weakened against the euro to 4.7862/7891 from 4.7635/7687 previously.

The ringgit also trended lower against ASEAN currencies.

It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.1847/1869 from 3.1708/1745 on Tuesday and slid against the Thai baht to 12.8308/8433 from 12.7793/7999 yesterday.

It had also decreased against the Indonesian rupiah to 248.2/248.4 from 247.9/248.3 at yesterday’s closing and eased vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 7.02/7.03 compared to 7.01/7.02 previously.

-- BERNAMA