Ringgit extends losses as US dollar strengthens

The fall of the Japanese yen benefitted the US dollar, while regional currencies also lost ground, says analyst.

KUALA LUMPUR:

 The ringgit extended Friday’s losses against the US dollar, closing lower today following a 0.7% rise in the US Dollar Index (DXY) to 98.406 points.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar-ringgit exchange rate moved in a narrow range today, hovering around RM4.2103 to RM4.2180.

He also noted that the Japanese yen weakened the most against the US dollar with the dollar-yen rate surpassing 150 yen, as incoming prime minister Sanae Takaichi is likely to favour pro-growth policies.

“Such situation appears to have benefitted the US dollar. Regional currencies also depreciated against the US dollar,” he told Bernama.

At 6pm, the local note eased to 4.2135/4.2180 versus the greenback compared with Friday’s close of 4.2055/4.2125.

At the close, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It increased versus the euro to 4.9155/4.9207 from 4.9360/4.9442 at Friday’s close and appreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.8019/2.8051 from 2.8537/2.8586 at the end of last week, but weakened vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.6608/5.6669 from 5.6577/5.6671.

The local note traded mixed against Asean currencies.

It inched up vis-à-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.2562/3.2599 from 3.2621/3.2678 at Friday’s close and rose versus the Philippine peso to 7.22/7.23 from 7.26/7.28 previously.

However, it slipped against the Thai baht to 12.9810/13.0009 from 12.9807/13.0084 on Friday and slid versus the Indonesian rupiah to 254.0/254.4 from 253.9/254.4. - FMT