Kuala lumpur: The ringgit eased against the US dollar at Thursday's close, impacted by a resurgence in the dollar's strength as global markets adopted a more defensive approach. At 6 pm, the local currency slipped to 3.9440/9535 against the greenback, down from its previous close of 3.9305/9345 on Wednesday.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan highlighted that the US Federal Reserve's cautious stance on near-term rate cuts, coupled with ongoing inflation concerns, bolstered the dollar's resilience. He noted that increased volatility in US equities and precious metals markets further fueled demand for the dollar as a safe haven. In addition, the decline in the Asia Dollar Index indicated that the pressure was widespread and not limited to Malaysia.
Mohd Sedek further explained that in this environment, regional and risk-sensitive currencies, including the ringgit, experienced a mild but broad-based depreciation. This sentiment was shared by Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, who observed that the local note weakened against the greenback as the US Dollar Index (DXY) gained strength amid profit-taking triggered by mixed US economic data.
At the time of reporting, the Asia Dollar Index was at 92.3532, marking a 0.10 percent decrease, while the US DXY rose to 97.87, an increase of 0.27 percent.
Despite the dip against the US dollar, the ringgit performed mostly better against other major currencies. It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5068/5130 from 2.5091/5118 and appreciated against the British pound to 5.3496/3625 from 5.3887/394. However, it slipped against the euro to 4.6460/6572 from 4.6443/6490.
In terms of its performance against ASEAN currencies, the ringgit showed a mixed trend. It gained strength against the Thai baht to 12.3955/4320 from 12.4206/4391 and firmed against the Indonesian rupiah to 234.1/234.8 from 234.2/234.6. Conversely, it declined versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0943/1020 from 3.0912/0946 and fell against the Philippine peso to 6.72/6.74 from 6.66/6.67 previously.