KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit continued to close lower against the US dollar yesterday, with uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate direction weighing on the local currency.
At 6pm, the local note weakened to 4.2120/2170 against the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.1985/2000.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said mixed signals from Fed officials continued to lend support to the US dollar.
“The US dollar-ringgit surpassed the RM4.20 level as the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose 0.16% to 97.419 points,” he told Bernama, adding that this weighed on the ringgit and other regional currencies.
At the close, the ringgit was mostly lower against a basket of major currencies, except the Japanese yen. It strengthened to 2.8400/8436 against the Japanese yen from 2.8441/8453 at Tuesday’s close.
