Ringgit ends lower against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar today, tracking the performance of most Asian currencies on heightened worries over a US trade war with China, dealers said.
At 6pm, the local note was quoted at 3.9150/9200 against the US dollar compared with Thursday's 3.9120/9150.
Oanda Head of Trading Asia-Pacific Stephen Innes said trade wars dominated the landscape of the market today and risk assets were traded weaker across the board as regional equity markets collapsed under the weight of the US protectionism.
"The ringgit was caught in the middle between diverging themes. On the one hand, local equities markets traded poorly, but a broadly weaker US dollar kept the local unit in check after the initial regional risk induced sell-off," he said.
The ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies, except the British pound.
It slipped versus the euro to 4.8245/8318 from 4.8243/8299 on Thursday and was lower against the yen at 3.7318/7383 from 3.7028/7074.
The local currency fell against the Singapore dollar to 2.9756/9799 from 2.9735/9770, but appreciated against the British pound to 5.5170/5248 from 5.5312/5370 on Thursday. — Bernama