KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 — The ringgit retreated from recent gains to end slightly lower against the US dollar today as the greenback strengthened after US President Donald Trump strikes a truce in the US-China trade war.
At 6pm, the local currency stood at 4.1350/1400 versus the US dollar compared with 4.1300/1350 recorded on Friday.
Sentiment for the greenback improved after Trump and China's President Xi Jinping, at the G20 meeting in Osaka, agreed to hold off on further tariffs against each other’s products.
Trump agreed to ease restrictions on Chinese technology giant Huawei’s US technology purchases and hold off on extending tariffs to virtually all Chinese goods.
Meanwhile, Xi was committed to buying an unspecified amount of US farm products and resuming trade talks.
“This is really good news to the market players, as commitment from both leaders spark hopes of a recovery in the global growth,” a dealer told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit was higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local currency strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.0517/0558 from 3.0520/0568 last Friday and appreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.8181/8234 from 3.8354/8412.
The ringgit firmed up vis-a-vis the pound to 5.2279/2359 from 5.2352/2419 and rose against the euro to 4.6816/6890 from 4.7012/7085. — Bernama
