KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 — The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar today as the greenback strengthened amid upbeat US consumer sentiment that raised the prospects of more United States (US) interest rate hikes.

The performance was in line with that of most Asian currencies which slipped on Monday, taking a cue from lacklustre Chinese economic growth data, said an analyst.

At 6pm, the local note stood at 4.5340/5405 against the greenback compared with 4.5255/5280 at last Friday’s close.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit was weaker today against the US dollar after experiencing a steep appreciation last week following the moderation in the US consumer price index.

On another note, he said China’s second-quarter gross domestic product growth came in lower than expected at 6.3 per cent versus the market expectation of 7.3 per cent.

China’s fixed asset investment and retail sales also saw lower growth in June at 3.8 per cent (May: 4.0 per cent) and 3.1 per cent (May: 12.7 per cent), respectively, suggesting that China’s domestic demand is softening, Mohd Afzanizam said.

"Consequently, the Chinese yuan (CNY) was weaker by 0.03 per cent at 7.1370 against the US dollar. Given that the yuan and the ringgit are closely correlated, the ringgit also depreciated today,” he told Bernama.

The ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies at today’s close.

It fell vis-a-vis the euro to 5.0971/1044 from 5.0799/0827 at last Friday’s close, slipped against the British pound to 5.9359/9444 from 5.9338/9371 at the end of last week, and eased versus the Japanese yen to 3.2815/2864 from 3.2659/2679.

The local note also traded mostly lower against other Asean currencies.

The ringgit fell against the Thai baht to 13.0984/1225 from 13.0689/0814 last Friday, declined versus the Singapore dollar to 3.4315/4366 from 3.4263/4287 previously and slid vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 8.33/8.35 from 8.31/8.33.

However, the ringgit gained against the Indonesian rupiah to 301.9/302.5 from 302.5/302.8 previously. — Bernama