KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — The ringgit and its regional peers continued to trade lower against the US dollar today, as market sentiment remained fixated on the conflict in Iran and the elevated global energy crisis.

At 6pm, the local currency fell to 4.0475/0520 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.0280/0350.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said market sentiment remained guarded, with investors highly alert to developments in the West Asia conflict while awaiting a series of key data releases, including the US ISM Index for the manufacturing and services sectors later this week.

“It will be interesting to see how business sentiment fares in March after enduring high fuel prices,” he added.

He noted that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has released its latest macroeconomic forecast, with the country’s gross domestic product growth at between four and five per cent this year.

“This was slightly higher compared to the 4.0 to 4.5 per cent when Budget 2026 was tabled in October last year. Inflation rate is anticipated to rise between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent, which is above last year’s inflation of 1.4 per cent.

“In that sense, the BNM sees the Malaysian economy as in a better position to withstand the economic challenges brought on by the war in Iran,” Mohd Afzanizam added.

At the close, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It weakened against the British pound to 5.3484/3543 from 5.3311/3403 at yesterday’s close, fell versus the Japanese yen to 2.5351/5381 as compared with 2.5237/5282 previously, and slipped vis-à-vis the euro to 4.6417/6468 from 4.6294/6374.

The local currency also traded lower or flat against Asean currencies.

It dropped versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1361/1399 from 3.1227/1284 registered at yesterday’s close, weakened versus the Indonesian rupiah to 237.5/237.8 from 236.9/237.4, and eased against the Philippine peso to 6.66/6.67 from 6.63/6.65.  — Bernama