West Texas Intermediate hit a low of US$39 a barrel while Brent fell to US$44, triggering a sell-off in the currency.
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit declined against the US dollar again today due to the fall in global crude oil prices, said traders.
At 5pm, the local note was quoted at 4.2475/0415 against the greenback, from 4.1800/1880 last Friday.
A trader said continuous slip in the global crude oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent had again triggered another sell-off in the ringgit and currencies of other emerging economies linked to crude oil exports.
“Oil prices extended their losses today, with WTI hit intra-day low of US$39 a barrel while Brent fell as low as US$44 a barrel.
“Sustained worries about China’s economy has dented global risk appetite and intensified worries over the outlook for global oil demand,” he said.
Another trader said while banks continued to offload local notes following portfolio outflows, contrarian asset managers would at anytime emerge to start accumulating oversold assets.
“The situation today is different from that during the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis. Malaysia’s economy is far stronger nowadays,” he said.
The ringgit, which hit 4.25 level per dollar for the first time since the Asian financial crisis 17 years ago, was also traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It continued its decline against the Singapore dollar to 3.0143/0229 from 2.9694/9753 on Friday and eased against the yen to 3.5295/5390 from 3.3981/4060.
The local unit also depreciated against the pound sterling to 6.6876/7042 from 6.5672/5814 and weakened against the euro to 4.8826/8950 from Friday’s 4.7033/7132.
– BERNAMA
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