KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar on Monday, weighed down by continued hawkish sentiment surrounding US interest rates.
At 6 pm, the ringgit dropped to 4.0805/0845 versus the greenback from Friday's close of 4.0715/0765.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam said hawkish signals from US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials continued to weigh on the foreign exchange market. He said indications from Fed officials, including Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson, suggested that further rate increases are ahead.
"Against this backdrop, US Treasury yields for the two- and 10-year maturities rose by six basis points to 4.91 and 5.57 per cent, respectively, while expectations of higher Fed funds rates have increased substantially for the October Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting," he told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It fell against the euro to 4.6416/6461 from 4.6378/6435 at Friday's close, dipped vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.4099/4152 from 5.3907/3973, and weakened versus the Japanese yen to 2.5994/6021 from 2.5764/5797 previously.
Against ASEAN currencies, the local note dropped versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1914/1948 from 3.1858/1900 at last week's close and was flat against the Philippine peso at 6.52/6.53. The ringgit, however, was higher vis-à-vis the Indonesian rupiah at 226.9/227.2 against 227.4/227.8 and gained against the Thai baht to 12.1429/1588 from 12.2036/2234 previously. - Bernama
