Ringgit ends marginally lower against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed marginally lower against the US dollar today as the greenback remained firm with an upside bias as a safe-haven currency amid uncertainties in the market, dealers said.
At 6pm, the ringgit fell to 4.1615/1655 versus the greenback from 4.1590/1620 on Monday.
FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga said the US dollar remained a popular destination for safe-haven flows amid the mounting geopolitical tensions across the world.
"Uncertainty over Brexit negotiations, the standoff over Italy's budget and US-Saudi tensions have sent investors rushing to the US dollar. With the greenback also supported by optimism over the US economy and prospects of higher US interest rates, the fundamental outlook points to a further upside," he said.
Meanwhile, MIDF Research chief economist Dr Kamaruddin Mohd Nor said the ringgit was tracking the performance of other regional currencies which mostly slipped against the greenback.
"Growing global risks and uncertainty together with declining oil prices have added pressure on the ringgit. Domestically, expectations of tepid headline inflation due this week will do little to boost the ringgit," he told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit traded mixed against other major currencies except the Japanese yen.
It rose against the British pound to 5.4075/4139 from 5.4183/4239 and appreciated against the euro to 4.7782/7841 from 4.7841/7880 on Monday.
The local currency fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.0206/0237 from 3.0166/0194 on Monday, and vis-a-vis the Japanese yen, the ringgit slipped to 3.7050/7103 from 3.6857/6887 yesterday. — Bernama