Ringgit remains lower against greenback

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit remained lower against the US dollar for the second consecutive session on weak demand despite positive economic data, dealers said.
At 6pm, the local note was quoted at 3.9160/9200 against the US dollar compared with yesterday's 3.9040/9080.
Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak indicated that the ringgit is expected to surge to 3.80 against the US dollar in the near term, owing to positive indicators like Malaysia's strong economic performance, as well as the country's export value of more than RM80 billion in the first quarter of this year.
"In terms of currency value, ours is among the best-performing currencies as several months ago the ringgit had weakened to 4.49. But it will surge to 3.80 soon," he said when addressing the Prime Minister's Budget 2018 with People-Civil Servants programme attended by over 5,000 people, here today.
Meanwhile, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), in its Annual Report 2017, said the ringgit was widely perceived to be undervalued and was expected to strengthen further in 2018.
Speaking to Bernama, a dealer said domestic issues in the US, including the sudden dismissal of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the country's tepid inflation data, as well as worries over global trade growth had curbed interest for the greenback.
"This unfavourable environment, however, failed to boost risk appetite for the ringgit, unlike other currencies that took advantage of the situation," he said.
Against other major currencies, the ringgit was also traded lower.
It fell against the Singapore dollar to 2.9893/9942 from 2.9786/9830 on Wednesday and weakened versus the yen to 3.6957/7002 from 3.6630/6674.
The local note also depreciated against the euro to 4.8398/8455 from yesterday's 4.8273/8334 and decreased vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.4585/4653 from 5.4453/4524. — Bernama