Weak appetite drags ringgit lower for sixth consecutive session

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit remained lower against the US dollar for the sixth consecutive session dampened by the continuous risk appetite for the local note, dealers said.
At 6pm, the local unit stood at 4.4300/4330 against the greenback compared with 4.4260/4290 on Monday.
A dealer said the ringgit declined in tandem with regional currencies as market players were cautious ahead of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, later this week.
"They are cautious of the meeting's outcome as many anticipate the two powerful leaders might have discussions related to North Korea," the dealer told Bernama.
He also said persistent weak US economic data and the decline in the country's bond yields had caused the safe haven currency to loose its ground and this indirectly clouded sentiment over other emerging currencies.
On the local front, another dealer said lack of catalyst had made the ringgit less attractive at the present but the local note's underlying fundamentals remained intact.
Against other major currencies, the ringgit was traded mixed.
It was slightly higher against the Singapore dollar at 3.1661/1691 from 3.1664/1710 on Monday and rose versus the British pound to 5.5202/5253 from 5.5422/5464 previously.
The local note, however, fell against the euro to 4.7202/7242 from 4.7186/7235 and depreciated vis-a-vis the yen to 4.0087/0132 from 3.9734/9779 previously.
The Japanese yen, which suffered its longest losing streak against the dollar, since Donald Trump became US President, snapped the downward pattern yesterday and closed broadly higher today.
It hit its strongest level in almost seven months on the back of a risk-averse mood among investors. — Bernama