Ringgit closes lower against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed lower today against the US dollar, as the greenback strengthened further to hit a 11-month high on expectation of further interest rate hike this year, dealers said.
At 6pm, the ringgit was quoted at 4.0140/0170 against the greenback compared with Wednesday's close of 4.0040/0070.
FXTM Global Head of Currency Strategy and Market Research Jameel Ahmad said the latest surge in the US dollar resulted in a 0.20% weakness in the ringgit.
"The buying momentum for the US dollar was relentless and left a lasting impact on emerging market currencies across Asia.
"However, the losses seen in the ringgit today was actually much lower in comparison with some of its regional peers," he told Bernama.
The Thai Baht had weakened over 0.5% while the Indonesian Rupiah had suffered weakness beyond 1.2%, the Korean Won 0.6% and the Chinese Yuan above 0.4%, he added.
The local unit was traded mostly higher against a basket of currencies, except the Japanese yen.
It improved against the Singapore dollar to 2.9461/9493 from Wednesday's close of 2.9465/9491 and increased against the British pound to 5.2620/2675 versus 5.2677/2720.
The ringgit rose against the euro to 4.6233/6276 from 4.6298/6349 on Wednesday but slipped vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.6355/6386 from 3.6354/6391 yesterday. — Bernama