KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 — The ringgit ended the trading week on a lower note against the US dollar due to weak sentiment amidst the strengthening greenback, analysts said.
At 6pm, the ringgit declined to 4.0450/0443 against the US dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.0380/0410.
An analyst said Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) announcement on its financial year 2020’s (FY20) results today, which saw the national oil company reporting a loss of RM21.0 billion, has further weakened the sentiment for ringgit.
“The RM21.0 billion losses, which is Petronas’ biggest so far, is a huge drawback for the nation’s coffers,” she told Bernama.
In 2019, Petronas posted a profit after tax of RM40.5 billion.
Meanwhile, OANDA Asia Pacific senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said the global bond tantrum sweeping financial markets has lifted government bond yields, notably in the United States (US).
“That has led to US dollar strength and a rotation out of emerging market currency positioning.
“As such, the ringgit has spent the day retreating, moving around 0.3 per cent lower during the trading session at between 4.0510-4.0450 against the US dollar,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against other major currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0443/0490 from 3.0663/0697 at the close on Thursday, strengthened versus the British pound to 5.6395/6473 from 5.7231/7289 previously, and increased against the euro to 4.9054/9127 from 4.9340/9385 yesterday.
The local currency, however, depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.7985/8035 from 3.8076/8108 previously. — Bernama
