KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended its weakness to end lower for the third consecutive day against the US dollar amid sliding oil prices and an uncertain local political scenario.
The greenback firmed on the back of the steepening of the yield curve and uncertainties over the fiscal stimulus in the United States, a dealer said.
At 6 pm, the local currency stood at 4.1280/1330 versus the greenback compared with Wednesday’s close of 4.1270/1320.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar versus ringgit pair was also seen moving in a tight range, which reflected a lack of catalysts.
“On the data front, the past few weeks have been quite decent, with the recent win by Joe Biden in the US presidential election boosting market sentiments,” he told Bernama.
On the announcement of the third quarter Gross Domestic Product tomorrow, he said it was believed that the consensus projection of a 4.6 per cent contraction, compared to a massive 17.1 per cent decline in the preceding quarter, had already been priced in.
However, he said the recent Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) measures in many states in Malaysia had raised concerns on the durability of the economic recovery.
“To some degree, the ongoing debate and the subsequent voting on Budget 2021 later this month would also be closely watched by the foreign exchange markets in order to gauge the strength of the Malaysian economic recovery,” he added.
Against other major currencies except the British pound, the ringgit was also traded lower at the close today.
It slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.0603/0647 from Wednesday’s close of 3.0602/0651 and declined against the euro to 4.8739/8815 from 4.8670/8741.
The local note weakened vis-a-vis the yen to 3.9161/9220 today from 3.9130/9196 yesterday but rose against the British pound to 5.4411/4498 from 5.4724/4807. — Bernama
