KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 — The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar today as investors returned to safe haven on renewed concerns over the global economic outlook due to a development on the Covid-19 pandemic, dealers said.
At 6pm, the ringgit stood at 4.2180/2210 against the greenback from 4.2025/2055 at yesterday’s close.
A dealer said investors were cautious as the Omicron Covid-19 variant continues to add uncertainties to the global economic outlook.
Yesterday, Senior Minister cum Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein announced that efforts to transition to the endemic phase has been paused for a while as the government looks to find out more about the new Covid-19 variant — Omicron — which is said to be more contagious than the Delta variant.
During the press conference after the Covid-19 Ministerial Quartet Meeting at the Parliament building yesterday, he said the government had noted that as of now, the variant had not only spread in South Africa, but also to several other countries including Italy, Denmark, Australia, United Kingdom, Belgium and Hong Kong.
“Although we have not heard of any cases in our country to date, precautionary actions will continue to be implemented.
“We are concerned that everything that we had planned before this, the announcements on the relaxation of SOPs, the seven criteria that we hoped to announce in the near future on the endemic phase... all these may be affected if we do not monitor the spread of Omicron more closely,” he said
Meanwhile, another dealer said that oil prices clawed back some losses today after steep falls in the previous session as major oil producers prepared to discuss how to respond to the threat of a hit on fuel demand from the Omicron variant.
The local note was traded mixed vis-a-vis a basket of major currencies,
The ringgit was lower against the Singapore dollar at 3.0933/0957 from 3.0743/0769 at yesterday’s close and was flat versus the British pound at 5.6158/6198 as at yesterday.
It strengthened against the Japanese yen at 3.7173/7203 from 3.7230/7260 but weakened against the euro to 4.7773/7807 from 4.7753/7787. — Bernama
