KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar on Thursday, pressured by concerns over Russia's unprecedented military aggression against Ukraine despite stronger oil prices, said an analyst.
At 6pm, the local note stood at 4.2030/2080 versus the greenback compared with 4.1830/1860 on Wednesday.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama that the conflict in Ukraine continued to worsen and military aggression had taken place.
Meanwhile, Brent crude has surpassed the US$100 per barrel mark given that the conflict could potentially disrupt the flows of oil and gas-related products.
He said the US dollar/ringgit settled at RM4.2017 at about 4 pm with the US Dollar Index gaining 0.52 per cent to 96.694 points.
“It remains to be seen whether the situation could be resolved soon. As such, demand for safe-haven assets such as the US dollar will continue to prevail in the immediate term,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of other major currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1062/1104 from 3.1114/1141 at the close yesterday, appreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6455/6522 from 5.6885/6925 on Wednesday, and increased against the euro to 4.7086/7142 from 4.7481/7515 previously.
However, the local currency weakened versus the yen to 3.6624/6671 from 3.6352/6381 previously.
— Bernama
