Ringgit ends lower against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended its downtrend from last Friday to end lower against the US dollar today in line with most other regional currencies, as more investors shifted towards safe-haven assets, a dealer said.

At 6 pm, the local currency depreciated against the greenback to 4.4170/4185 from Friday’s close of 4.4000/4030.

A dealer said there was growing concern among investors as last Friday's high US inflation data suggested more aggressive monetary tightening in the offing.

Meanwhile, MIDF Research said the US dollar appreciated against major currencies last week as the US Dollar Index rose to a three-week high of 104.15, or 2.0 per cent higher than the previous week.

"The stubbornly high (US) inflation in May 2022 led to increased expectations for the US Federal Reserve to remain aggressive to tighten its monetary policy in the upcoming meetings,” it said in a note today.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

The local note rose against the British pound to 5.3892/3910 from Friday’s close of 5.4784/4822 and strengthened versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1770/1783 from 3.1856/1880 at the end of last week.

It also appreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.2830/2844 from 3.2870/2895 on Friday and went up vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6211/6226 from 4.6618/6650. - Bernama