KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 — The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar today on continued profit-taking following the recent appreciation of the local note, dealers said.
At 6pm, the local currency was traded at 4.1930/1955 against the greenback from 4.1860/1880 at yesterday’s close.
A dealer said the local note was also under pressure as oil prices decreased after US fuel stockpiles climbed, indicating declining demand in the world’s biggest oil consumer amid a massive spike in Covid-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant.
It was reported that the US gasoline stockpiles rose by 7.1 million barrels in the week to Dec 31, while distillate stockpiles climbed by 4.4 million barrels in the week.
At the time of writing, the benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.10 per cent to US$79.92 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 0.17 per cent to US$76.86 a barrel.
Back home, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of other major currencies.
It eased versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0924/0939 from yesterday’s close of 3.0891/0906 and fell against the Japanese yen to 3.6190/6215 from 3.6133/6153 yesterday.
The local currency depreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6785/6814 from 5.6465/6489 yesterday and weakened against the euro to 4.7408/7424 from 4.7310/7337 previously. — Bernama
