KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed easier against the US dollar today due to weak sentiment amid the strengthening greenback, analysts said.
At 6 pm, the local note fell by 330 basis points to 4.1050/1100 against the US dollar from 4.0720/0760 at Friday’s close.
Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes the ringgit weakened again due to a few reasons, but primarily due to foreign exchange traders repricing the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) policy higher, faster and sooner, which really matters a lot for the US dollar.
“Investors are also now thinking the US economy will outpace Asia’s growth in 2021 and it could trigger an asset rotation out of Asia going into the US market, which is also weighing on local currency sentiment,“ he told Bernama.
He said the local note was a bit more vulnerable to Fed hikes, tightening in dollar liquidity and capital outflows because US interest rates were set to boost the US dollar, which would weigh on the prices of dollar-denominated commodities.
Meanwhile, the ringgit also traded lower against other major currencies.
The local note weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.0434/0478 from 3.0359/0395 on Friday last week and fell against the Japanese yen to 3.7810/7859 from 3.7544/7584.
The ringgit decreased versus the British pound to 5.6772/6850 from 5.6267/6338 and slipped against the euro to 4.8730/8802 from 4.8563/8627. — Bernama
