KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — The ringgit extended its downtrend against the US dollar from last week to close easier for the fourth consecutive trading day on lack of demand.

At 6pm, the ringgit was traded at 4.1400/1450 against the US dollar from last Friday’s closing of 4.1360/1400.

AxiCorp’s chief market strategist Stephen Innes said investors remained on the sidelines as they needed to get a better analysis of the regional economic data due to the Covid-19 outbreak before making their next move.

“On a positive note, the region’s central banks, including Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), are looking to offset some of the damage by easing the policies.

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“This is a good thing for the ringgit as it will speed up the manufacturing rebound trade,” he told Bernama.

Innes said the quiet market was also due to the absence of most foreign investors as the US markets were closed for the Presidents’ Day holiday.

The ringgit was also traded lower against other major currencies.

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It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.9806/9846 from 2.9751/9797 and fell versus the euro to 4.4898/4957 from 4.4851/4902 last Friday.

The ringgit dropped against the British pound to 5.3977/4059 from 5.3904/3973 and eased vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.7674/7730 from 3.7665/7705 last week. — Bernama