KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 — The ringgit ended on a slightly weaker note today as emerging market (EM) currencies traded in a mixed mode amid the continued strengthening of the greenback.
As at 6pm today, the local note was quoted at 4.3505/3555 compared with yesterday’s close of 4.3440/3510.
An analyst said all benchmark currencies had shown an upward momentum, as their economies had started to reopen and were now boosted by the positivity of the vaccine.
“Despite the threat by US President Donald Trump to cut funding to the World Health Organisation, the market is pretty much solid for now. This is also despite hiccups on the vaccine effectiveness, as many countries have shown signs that they had managed to contain the virus spread,” she said.
However, she said the ringgit’s slip would only be temporary as emerging markets like Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea had shown better performance in managing Covid-19 so far.
“The pandemic might have taken a toll on the ringgit as well as other EM currencies which has led them to be undervalued. This means that the currencies have a higher chance of recovering post-pandemic compared to an overvalued currency that can crash if the situation worsens,” she said.
The United States continues to be on top of the list with the total of 1.51 million Covid-19 cases with more than 92.258 deaths, followed by the UK with 247,709 cases, Italy (225,886 cases), France (180,051 cases) and Germany (177,289 cases).
Against a basket of other benchmark currencies, the local note traded lower.
The local currency slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.0724/0761 from 3.0648/0706 yesterday, and declined versus the Japanese yen to 4.0395/0452 from 4.0387/0456.
The ringgit fell also against the euro to 4.7634/7701 from 4.7179/7283, and edged lower against the British pound to 5.3359/3438 from 5.3166/3269 previously. — Bernama
