KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar ahead of the release of the United States (US) Producer Price Index (PPI) data amid trade war concerns, said an analyst.
At 6 pm, the ringgit dropped to 4.4310/4375 versus the greenback from Wednesday’s close of 4.4260/4300.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said investors would closely monitor the release of the US PPI tonight to see whether it would show a trend similar to February’s Consumer Price Index.
"Market participants remain cautious about the trade war and whether it would result in a considerable slowdown in the US economy,” he told Bernama today.
Mohd Afzanizam said the US dollar-ringgit pair hovered around RM4.43 as the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose 0.11 per cent to 103.73 points.
"(The US PPI data would determine) whether the US Federal Reserve (Fed) next week would be dovish in its stance in light of the tariff war. As such, the ringgit would stay soft against the US dollar in the near term,” he noted.
Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the ringgit had held steady despite a downturn in regional equity markets caused by tariff concerns.
He said the local note demonstrated resilience even as the broader currency markets adopted a defensive stance with the US dollar in demand across the board.
"The resistance is a bit surprising. Nonetheless, there was a big move yesterday. That said, traders remain in a wait-and-see mode, bracing for the severity of the reciprocal tariffs before making any bold moves,” he added.
The ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It rose versus the euro to 4.8205/8276 from 4.8301/8345 at Wednesday’s close but depreciated against the British pound to 5.7426/7510 from 5.7255/7306 yesterday and declined vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.9909/9953 from 2.9775/9804 previously.
The local note performed lower against ASEAN currencies.
It dropped versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3198/3250 from yesterday’s closing price of 3.3181/3213 and retreated against the Thai baht to 13.1199/1443 from 13.0688/0868.
The ringgit also edged lower vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 269.7/270.2 from 269.0/269.3 yesterday and slipped versus the Philippine peso to 7.72/7.74 from 7.71/7.73. - Bernama
