KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar today on profit-taking following recent gains, said an analyst.
At 6 pm, the local currency inched down to 3.9550/9600 versus the greenback from 3.9500/9545 at yesterday’s close.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd investment strategy director and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan told Bernama that the ringgit is behaving as a high-beta regional proxy, with recent outperformance leaving it vulnerable to near-term profit-taking and flow-driven adjustments, even as Malaysia’s macro backdrop remains intact.
He opined that the ringgit’s decline today is best understood as a function of global positioning rather than any erosion in domestic fundamentals.
Meanwhile Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose marginally by 0.14 per cent to 98.245 points.
Hence, the firmer greenback continued to exert mild pressure on the ringgit, he added.
At the close, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It weakened versus the British pound to 5.3614/3682 from 5.3495/3556 at Tuesday’s close, declined vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6594/6653 from 4.6567/6620 yesterday, and slipped against the Japanese yen to 2.4890/4923 from 2.4847/4877 previously.
Meanwhile, the local currency traded mixed against its ASEAN peers.
It eased versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1095/1139 from 3.1053/1091 on Tuesday and slid against the Indonesian rupiah to 230.7/231.0 from 230.6/231.0.
However, the ringgit strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.3098/3330 from 12.3183/3397 yesterday and edged up vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 6.58/6.59 from 6.59/6.61 previously. - Bernama
