Kuala Lumpur: The ringgit ended marginally lower against the US dollar on Wednesday, influenced by the strengthening of the greenback amidst renewed optimism surrounding US-China trade talks, according to an economist.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the shift came after comments from President Donald Trump suggested a possible reduction in tariffs, contingent upon China’s readiness to negotiate. At 6 pm, the local currency eased to 4.3880/3925 against the greenback, compared to the previous day’s close of 4.3835/3905.
Dr Mohd Afzanizam further elaborated that while this gesture was positively received by financial markets, the actual impact on trade dynamics and currency movements will be contingent on tangible progress in negotiations. “It remains to be seen whether such tactics would yield the desirable outcome. At least, there are signs that the US President is willing to make concessions in the current standoff, which has been well accepted by the financial markets,” he told Bernama.
He pointed out that equities benchmarks across Asia, along with early trades in Europe, have shown some positive indications. “The US Dollar Index (DXY) has also recouped some lost ground when it rose by 0.22 per cent to 99.139 points,” he added.
Domestically, the ringgit showed a firmer stance against a basket of major currencies. It increased against the Japanese yen to 3.0925/0959 from 3.1206/1260 at Tuesday’s close, firmed against the British pound to 5.8457/8517 from 5.8590/8683, and strengthened versus the euro to 5.0102/0154 from 5.0362/0442.
However, the local note displayed mixed results against ASEAN currencies. It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.3478/3515 from 3.3523/3579 and strengthened against the Thai baht to 13.1251/1457 from 13.1930/2212. Conversely, it fell against the Philippine peso at 7.75/7.77 from 7.73/7.75 and decreased against the Indonesian rupiah at 260.0/260.5 compared with 259.9/260.5 from the prior day.