KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — The ringgit slipped against the United States (US) dollar at Monday’s close, reflecting renewed strength in the greenback amid lingering trade tensions between the US and China.
At 6pm, the local note fell to 4.2265/2295 against the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.2200/2260.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose 0.21 per cent to 99.185 points, as concerns over US-China relations appeared to ease following President Donald Trump’s remarks over the weekend.
According to reports, Trump said the US will impose a 100 per cent tariff on imports from China, along with restrictions on tech exports, starting November 1 or sooner, depending on China’s response.
Afzanizam noted that investors remained wary of the state of trade and the ongoing US government shutdown, which has limited the US Federal Reserve's data visibility ahead of its meeting at the end of the month.
“Therefore, the US dollar-ringgit is oscillating within a narrow range of RM4.22 to RM4.23,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit weakened against a basket of major currencies.
It fell against the euro to 4.9006/9041 from 4.8838/8907 at Friday’s close, edged lower versus the Japanese yen to 2.7775/7796 from 2.7618/7659, and dropped against the British pound to 5.6369/6409 from 5.6084/6164.
Against Asean currencies, the ringgit also closed lower.
It depreciated versus the Thai baht to 12.9878/13.0030 from 12.8942/9184, narrowed against the Singapore dollar to 3.2562/2587 from 3.2494/2543, slid versus the Philippine peso to 7.26/7.26 from 7.24/7.26, and softened against the Indonesian rupiah to 255.0/255.3 from 254.6/255.1.
