KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — The ringgit reversed earlier gains to close weaker against the US dollar today as market sentiment was clouded by mounting concern over the Covid-19 Omicron variant, dealers said.
At 6pm, the local note stood at 4.2110/2140 versus the greenback compared with 4.2065/2110 at yesterday’s close.
A dealer said investors were closely monitoring the development related to the Omicron variant, as it could potentially disrupt the global supply chain and lead to higher inflation, as well as the possibility of imposition of more restrictions.
“The restrictions and disruptions caused will hurt the economic recovery,” he told Bernama.
Earlier, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced the sale of bus and flight tickets under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Malaysia and Singapore would be temporarily suspended from tomorrow until Jan 20, 2022.
Closer to home, Thailand has announced that it is halting its quarantine-free entry programme “Test & Go” in bid to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant in the kingdom, while Indonesia is continuing to evaluate existing measures to protect its people from Covid-19 and the Omicron strain.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of other major currencies.
It fell vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.0832/0858 from 3.0828/0866 yesterday, depreciated against the British pound to 5.5964/6004 from 5.5732/5792, and weakened against the euro to 4.7521/7555 from 4.7508/7559 yesterday.
The local note, however, increased versus the Japanese yen to 3.6835/6865 from 3.7019/7062 at close yesterday. — Bernama
