KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar today in tandem with other emerging market currencies due to external factors.
At 6pm, the local note was quoted at 4.1870/1900 against the greenback, compared with yesterday’s close of 4.1800/1840.
Meanwhile, AxiTrader Asia Pacific market strategist Stephen Innes said geopolitical tension has come to the fore as India’s top vegetable oil body has asked its members to stop buying the Malaysian palm oil amid the escalating Malaysia-India tension over the Kashmir conflict.
Previously, Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA) of India’s president Atul Chaturvedi had advised SEA members not to buy palm oil from Malaysia, taking a cue from New Delhi’s protest against Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s remarks on Kashmir at the UN General Assembly.
Innes added that the yuan had also weakened slightly today as trade tensions between Washington and Beijing intensified.
“There are growing economic concerns about China’s economy again which plays out negative on the yuan sentiment for today,” he told Bernama.
Against a basket of other currencies, the ringgit was traded mixed.
The local note fell against the yen to 3.8558/8589 from yesterday’s 3.8493/8541 and eased versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0730/0757 from 3.0713/0751 previously.
However, the local unit was higher against the euro at 4.6660/6702 compared with 4.6678/6731 on Monday and vis-a-vis the British pound at 5.4138/4198 from 5.4269/4333 previously. — Bernama
