Ringgit ends lower as greenback gains on hopes of easing trade war

 The US-China tariff spat continues to hog the limelight with market sentiment remaining cautious, says analyst.

KUALA LUMPUR:

 The ringgit ended the week lower as the greenback gained on hopes of an easing US-China trade war.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the ringgit versus the US dollar was in a tight range today, hovering between RM4.3715 and RM4.3823.

“The tariff spat between the US and China continues to hog the limelight with market sentiment remaining cautious,” he told Bernama.

He said there were reports that China might exempt import tariffs on certain items levied against the US, as rising costs have weighed heavily on their businesses.

At 6pm, the local unit fell to 4.3705/4.3770 against the greenback, compared with yesterday’s close of 4.3695/4.3750.

Back home, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It rose against the Japanese yen to 3.0431/3.0481 from 3.0670/3.0710 at yesterday’s close, gained on the euro to 4.9596/4.9670 from 4.9738/4.9801, but was almost flat versus the British pound at 5.8128/5.8214 from 5.8127/5.8201 yesterday.

Against regional currencies, the ringgit traded mixed.

It firmed against the Singapore dollar to 3.3228/3.3280 from 3.3307/3.3354, and strengthened against the Thai baht to 13.0195/13.0450 from 13.0632/13.0874.

The local currency, however, decreased against the Philippine peso to 7.77/7.78 from 7.72/7.74 and depreciated against the Indonesian rupiah to 259.6/260.2 from 258.9/259.4. - FMT