KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar for the five consecutive day today, weighed down by further monetary policy tightening by global central banks seen on the horizon.
At 6pm, the local currency was pegged at 4.4375/4405 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.4315/4350.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the ringgit was expected to trade at the 4.30-level against the US dollar in the first quarter of 2023 as China’s official reopening approached.
He noted that the rise in sovereign yields after the Bank of Japan surprised the market by abandoning its Yield Curve Control continued to hinder the ringgit bulls despite the expectation of a weaker US dollar.
“When global sovereign yields back up, the Malaysian Government Securities fall way down the pecking order; hence bond inflow falls to a trickle, which is likely to happen for a bit longer. Global risk sentiment is handling the event well, and I think the ringgit’s weakness is transitory,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local note eased versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2829/2856 from 3.2816/2847 at yesterday’s close, depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.3714/3740 from 3.3531/3565 previously, and slipped against the British pound to 5.3880/3917 from 5.3834/3876.
However, it was slightly higher versus the euro at 4.7113/7145 compared with 4.7133/7171 yesterday. — Bernama
