Ringgit ends almost flat against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR - The ringgit was almost flat against the US dollar on Monday’s close on a lack of demand and declining oil prices.

At 6 pm, the local note stood at 4.6685/6725 against the greenback compared with 4.6655/6675 at Friday’s close.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit remained fairly weak today despite weaker-than-expected United States (US) non-farm payroll (NFP) data published last Friday.

He said China’s consumer price index (CPI) was flat in June year-on-year, the lowest level since February 2021, suggesting that the world’s second-largest economy would have more room to use monetary policy to support the economy.

"This would further increase the appeal of the US dollar as the US interest rates are expected to remain high relative to other major central banks across the globe,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said Asian foreign exchange traders remained cautious about selling the US dollar ahead of this week’s US CPI, as fears of the sticky core could support the greenback via higher for longer US interest rates as the Federal Reserve (Fed) uses higher interest rates to tame inflation.

"Hence, they remain reluctant to sell their US dollar holding until the Fed signals a definitive pause in interest rates,” he said.

The ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies at today’s close.

It declined vis-a-vis the euro to 5.1176/1220 from 5.0765/0787 at Friday’s close, slipped against the Japanese yen to 3.2761/2792 from 3.2601/2617 and weakened against the British pound to 5.9785/9836 from 5.9466/9492.

The local note traded mixed against other Asean currencies.

The ringgit was down versus the Singapore dollar at 3.4612/4644 from Friday’s close of 3.4511/4528 and weakened against the Thai baht to 13.2790/2961 from 13.2471/2588.

However, the ringgit rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 306.9/307.4 from 308.0/308.3 and almost flat against the Philippine peso at 8.38/8.39 from 8.39/8.39. - BERNAMA