The local currency eased by 1.04% against the US dollar, in tandem with most Asian currencies, which also traded lower against the greenback, says analyst.
At 6pm, the local currency depreciated to 4.0715/4.0760 against the US dollar from last Friday’s close of 4.0280/4.0320.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the ringgit eased by 1.04% against the US dollar, in tandem with most Asian currencies, which also traded lower against the greenback.
He said crude oil prices were also higher today due to the ongoing war between the US, Israel, and Iran, which will result in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
At the time of writing, the benchmark Brent crude oil increased 3.77% to US$96.60 per barrel.
“A higher inflation rate going forward and how the global market would react to such macroeconomic conditions will be a key factor that will shape market sentiments.
“It appears that a higher benchmark interest rate seems to be the antidote for the currency, and this has led to cautious market sentiments,” he told Bernama.
Similar to its performance against the greenback, the ringgit also traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It depreciated against the British pound to 5.4249/5.4309 from 5.4233/5.4287 at the close last Friday and slid against the Japanese yen to 2.5445/2.5475 from 2.5183/2.5209 last week but turned slightly higher versus the euro at 4.6867/4.6919 from 4.6882/4.6928 previously.
The local currency also depreciated against regional peers.
It fell versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1577/3.1614 from 3.1390/3.1424 last Friday and was down against the Thai baht at 12.3942/12.4128 from 12.3433/12.3605 previously.
It was also weaker against the Philippine peso at 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. - FMT
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