KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — The ringgit depreciated against the US dollar at the close today due to the strengthening greenback, said a dealer.
The local unit fell to 4.0570/0600 against the dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.0490/0530
Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the ringgit had struggled today due to the strong US dollar and higher US yields, putting pressure on the Asian foreign exchange.
“Also, local equity markets remain sluggish due to the increasing rate hike chatter surrounding the People’s Bank of China’s policy. Still, overcrowded foreign exchange trades look incredibly tenuous now on the back of higher US yields.
“But this could also be a foreteller of things to come in stocks at the index level,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the local unit was traded mixed against other major currencies.
It eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.0374/0410 from yesterday’s 3.0359/0401 and declined against the yen to 3.8850/8582 from 3.8533/8574 yesterday.
The local currency improved against the British pound to 5.5106/5163 from 5.5216/5287 and rose vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8623/8671 from 4.8677/8733 previously. — Bernama
