RINGGIT CLOSES LOWER AGAINST US DOLLAR AS GLOBAL UNCERTAINTY DRIVE INVESTORS TO SAFE HAVEN CURRENCIES

By Zarul Effendi Razali

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 (Bernama) -- The ringgit extended yesterday’s losses to close lower against the greenback on Tuesday, as the global economic outlook prompted investors to shift interest towards safe haven currencies, an analyst said.

At 6 pm, the local currency edged down to 4.4675/4720 against the US dollar, compared to Monday’s close of 4.4570/4625.

SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said that the BRICS tariff threat still casts a shadow over regional markets, particularly as the Chinese yuan exerts downward pressure across regional currencies.

“With Chinese bond yields dropping ominously, there is a clear market anticipation of deeper rate cuts by China to bolster its weakening economy. This has resulted in a widening interest rate differential between the US and China; not only is the yuan falling, but it is dragging the ASEAN currency basket along with it.

“Amidst this financial turbulence, Trump’s unpredictable social media posts continue to inject a sense of tension and caution among traders, especially in Malaysia, leaving those betting against the US dollar in a particularly precarious position,” he told Bernama today.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said market sentiments remain uneasy about the recent remarks by Donald Trump on tariffs amid his approaching inauguration on Jan 20, 2025.

“Perhaps, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Dec 17 and 18 would shed more light on how the US Federal Reserve sees the economy as they will share their latest macroeconomic forecast, especially prospects for the Fed Fund Rate in 2025,” he said.

The ringgit was also traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It weakened versus the British pound to 5.6643/6700 from 5.6613/6683, depreciated against the euro to 4.7003/7050 from 4.6856/6914 and eased against the Japanese yen to 2.9825/9859 from 2.9648/9687 at Monday’s close.

The local unit traded mostly lower against ASEAN currencies.

It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.3223/3261 versus 3.3113/3156, almost flat against the Indonesian rupiah to 280.1/280.5 from 280.1/280.6 and went down versus the Thai baht to 12.9854/13.0042 from 12.9196/9423.

The ringgit dipped against the Philippine peso to 7.62/7.63 from 7.59/7.61.

-- BERNAMA