KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar today as market sentiment remained cautious ahead of the release of the United States’ May Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.
At 6 pm, the local note eased to 4.0670/0715 versus the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.0580/0630.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said US CPI data due out tonight will be closely monitored with consensus estimates pencilling in a 4.2 per cent rise in May, higher than the two per cent target set by the US Federal Reserve (Fed).
"The ringgit was mostly stable around the RM4.06 level. Regional developments, especially the surprise interest rate hike by the Bank of Indonesia (on Tuesday), somehow affected market sentiment, with the strong US labour market portending an interest rate hike by the Fed.
"The prevailing condition is US dollar-positive; hence a softer ringgit,” he told Bernama.
However, Mohd Afzanizam said, the latest BNM’s international reserves of US$130.6 billion suggests demand for the ringgit remained healthy.
The local currency traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It slipped versus the Japanese yen to 2.5347/5377 from 2.5332/5365 at Tuesday’s close, weakened against the British pound to 5.4486/4546 from 5.4329/4395 yesterday, and fell vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7006/7058 from 4.6915/6972 previously.
The ringgit also softened against regional peers.
It depreciated versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1591/1628 from 3.1563/1604 on Tuesday and was down against the Thai baht at 12.3688/3871 compared to 12.3531/3732 previously.
It also dropped versus the Philippine peso to 6.62/6.63 from 6.59/6.60 yesterday and slid vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 226.6/227 from 224.7/225.1. - Bernama
