Risk assets and oil prices may be hit, taking down currencies of commodity producing countries, especially the Russian ruble, Colombian peso and ringgit, according to Bloomberg.
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit was slightly weaker against the US dollar in early trade today on better demand for the greenback, following a spike in US bond yields last week.
At 9 am, the local unit stood at 4.1560/1590 against the US dollar from 4.1530/1560 recorded last Friday.
However, a dealer said losses in the local note were capped by the higher global oil price, with the international benchmark Brent up nearly 1.6 per cent.
“With Brent crude price breaching US$80 per barrel, market players are seeing this as a positive note for Malaysia's fiscal balance,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly higher against other major currencies, except the yen, where it eased to 3.7114/7144 from 3.6971/7008 at Friday's close.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0127/0160 from 3.0149/0175, improved versus the euro to 4.7998/8045 from 4.8092/8139 and appreciated against the British pound to 5.4481/4537 from 5.4861/4917. - Bernama
Win a prize this Mother's Day by subscribing to our annual plan now! T&C applies.
