Ringgit continues to slide, reaches 11-month low

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit continued to slide for the eighth trading day, reaching a 11-month low, as the greenback gained strength.
At 9 am, the local unit stood at 4.1740/1780 versus the US dollar from 4.1730/1770 on Friday.
A dealer said the US dollar continued to strengthen as the US gross domestic product expanded by 3.5 per cent in the third quarter, with inflation low and consumer spending seeing a surge.
"This has led to the dollar emerging stronger and attracting more investors to the US," he told Bernama.
He said on the local front, despite oil prices having surged to US$77.94 per barrel, investors were still on the sidelines, awaiting the upcoming Budget 2019 announcement this Friday.
"Till budget day, it is expected that investors will simply adopt a wait and see attitude, in trying to understand the course of the newly-elected government," he added.
However, against other major currencies, the ringgit traded mostly lower.
The local unit was down against the Singapore dollar to 3.0222/0256 from 3.0154/0189 on Friday, but vis-a-vis the Japanese yen, was slightly up to 3.7281/7327 from 3.7282/7321.
The ringgit contracted against the British pound to 5.3544/3612 from 5.3419/3495 and declined against the euro at 4.7538/7596 from 4.7384/7438. — Bernama