KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — The ringgit fell by 0.29 per cent to close at 4.1520 versus the US dollar today — its lowest since Dec 12, 2019 due to the lingering COVID-19 jitters.
At 6pm, the local unit depreciated to 4.1520/1560 against the greenback, compared with yesterday’s close of 4.1400/1450.
The ringgit closed at 4.1580/1610 versus the US dollar on Dec 12.
AxiCorp’s chief market strategist Stephen Innes said the local currency’s performance was weighed by Malaysia’s strong trade ties with China.
“With signs of burgeoning supply chain disruption in China (due to the COVID-19 outbreak), the ringgit had no place to go except lower as risk-off sentiment continues to grip the region,” he said in a note today.
At the close, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against other major currencies, with the exception of the pound.
It fell against the Singapore dollar to 2.9810/9850 from 2.9806/9846 yesterday, declined against the euro to 4.4950/5009 from 4.4898/4957 and depreciated against the yen to 3.7838/7878 from 3.7674/7730.
It rose vis-a-vis the pound to 5.3951/4020 from 5.3977/4059 on Monday. — Bernama
