KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar today on falling global crude oil prices amid a moderate rise in demand for the greenback, dealers said.

At 6pm, the local currency was quoted at 4.0870/0910 against the US dollar compared with Tuesday’s close of 4.0740/0780.

OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said the US dollar made moderate gains against G-10 and regional currencies overnight as traders moved to the sidelines awaiting more macroeconomic clarity.

"We expect the same tepid theme to continue into Asia today with a quiet day ahead.

"Things should get more exciting as we head into a data-heavy last two days of the week,” he said.

Benchmark Brent crude oil was 0.59 per cent easier at US$65.47 per barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil declined 1.18 per cent to US$55.89 per barrel.

The ringgit was also traded lower against other major currencies.

It declined against the Japanese yen to 3.6530/6579 from 3.6381/6427 yesterday and depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.0098/0139 from 3.0062/0109.

The local unit eased against the euro to 4.6187/6236 from 4.6142/6200 and decreased versus the British pound to 5.3724/3793 from 5.3716/3785 previously. — Bernama