Kuala lumpur: The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar today as stronger-than-expected United States (US) labour market data reinforced expectations that the US Federal Reserve would maintain its restrictive monetary policy stance, boosting demand for the greenback, an economist said. At 6 pm, the local note depreciated to 4.0715/0760 against the US dollar from last Friday's close of 4.0280/0320.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the ringgit eased by 1.04 per cent against the US dollar, in tandem with most Asian currencies, which also traded lower against the greenback. He highlighted that crude oil prices were also higher today due to the ongoing war between the US, Israel, and Iran, which could result in the closure of the Straits of Hormuz.
At the time of writing, the benchmark Brent crude oil had increased 3.77 per cent to US$96.60 per barrel. Dr Mohd Afzanizam pointed out that a higher inflation rate going forward and how the global market would react to such macroeconomic conditions will be key factors shaping market sentiments. He remarked, "It appears that a higher benchmark interest rate seems to be the antidote for the currency, and this has led to cautious market sentiments."
Similar to its performance against the greenback, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. It depreciated against the British pound to 5.4249/4309 from 5.4233/4287 at the close last Friday and slid against the Japanese yen to 2.5445/5475 from 2.5183/5209 last week, but turned slightly higher versus the euro at 4.6867/6919 from 4.6882/6928 previously.
The local currency also depreciated against regional peers. It fell versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1577/1614 from 3.1390/1424 last Friday and was down against the Thai baht at 12.3942/4128 from 12.3433/3605 previously. It had also turned weaker against the Philippine peso to 6.60/6.61 from 6.55/6.56 last week and eased against the Indonesian rupiah to 223.8/224.2 versus 223.3/223.6 previously.