Ringgit closes flat vs US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed unchanged against the the US dollar today ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia's announcement on the fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figure tomorrow.
At 6pm, the local note remained at 3.9370/9400 against the greenback.
OANDA Corp Head of Trading for Asia-Pacific Stephen Innes said the ringgit was traded within a tight range ahead of Malaysia's GDP announcement and the US consumer price index on Wednesday.
"Both monster data points for the ringgit's near-term fate. An uptick in inflation will lead to higher yields and will present the most significant headwind for the ringgit," he added.
Innes said while the market has priced in three US rate hikes for 2018, a sudden uptick in US inflation could quicken the pace of the US Federal Reserve interest rate normalisation and could weigh negatively on regional sentiment.
The ringgit also weakened against a basket of major currencies.
It declined against the Singapore dollar to 2.9760/9792 from Monday's 2.9689/9713 and depreciated against the yen to 3.6569/6600 from 3.6202/6240.
The local unit eased against the British pound to 5.4653/4715 from 5.4504/4553 and fell against the euro to 4.8476/8517 from 4.8279/8320. — Bernama