KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar today after a positive start yesterday due to firmer demand for the greenback as markets interpreted the US Federal Reserve chairman’s hawkish comments on easing price pressures, analysts said.
At 6pm, the local note stood at 4.3960/3975 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.3880/3915.
Reports noted that Fed chairman Jerome Powell said the US central bank will “keep pushing” to tighten US monetary policy until it is clear that inflation is declining.
Meanwhile, China’s yuan slipped against the US dollar today, pulling back after notching its biggest daily gain since October a day earlier as data showed continued capital outflows from Chinese bonds in April, thus affecting ringgit’s traction.
“These reasons have weighed down the recent ringgit recovery. But if China reopens successfully, most of the macro worries for the ringgit will likely fade,” SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes told Bernama.
The ringgit was, however, traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It went down against the Singapore dollar to 3.1713/1728 from yesterday’s close of 3.1643/1671 and fell vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6268/6284 from 4.5969/6005.
The local note declined versus the Japanese yen to 3.4041/4055 from 3.3939/3969, but was slightly higher against the British pound to 5.4554/4573 from 5.4653/4696 yesterday. — Bernama
