RINGGIT WEAKENS AGAINST US DOLLAR AS FOREX MARKET TIPTOES INTO HIGH ALERT

By Siti Radziah Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 (Bernama) -- The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar on Monday as the forex market tiptoes into the week on high alert, stuck in a “wait and see” mode, as traders hedge their bets ahead of Donald Trump’s tariff D-Day tomorrow, said an analyst. 

Last week, the United States president said his proposed 25 per cent tariff on Mexican and Canadian goods will take effect on March 4, along with an extra 10 per cent duty on Chinese imports. 

At 6 pm, the ringgit fell to 4.4640/4680 against 4.4600/4650 at Friday’s close. 

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes noted a sense of optimism in the air following comments made by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over the weekend.

Lutnick referred to Trump’s approach to Mexico and Canada as “fluid”, sparking positive sentiment.

“That was enough to give markets an opening to hope for a last-minute reprieve. But the ringgit is closing slightly on the weaker side of break-even today. I think forex traders are considering that China is not getting an easy pass. The real question is not if Beijing gets hit, but how hard.

“Markets have tentatively priced in two rounds of 10 per cent tariffs, but if Trump goes full throttle, expect a seismic shockwave through Asian forex,” he told Bernama.

Innes added that the yuan would set the tone -- if the US dollar/yuan ripped toward the 7.5000 level, it would be game over for trade-sensitive currencies like the Korean won, Thai baht, and the ringgit. 

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded lower against major currencies.

It fell against the British pound to 5.6394/6444 against 5.6174/6237 last Friday, declined against the euro to 4.6586/6628 from 4.6362/6414 and was slightly weaker against the Japanese yen at 2.9683/9711 from 2.9682/9717. 

The local currency was traded easier against ASEAN currencies.

It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.3130/3163 from 3.3069/3108 and slipped against the Thai baht to 13.0576/0762 from 13.0455/0670. 

The ringgit went down against the Indonesian rupiah to 270.8/271.2 from 268.7/269.1 and weakened against the Philippine peso to 7.71/7.72 from 7.69/7.70. 

-- BERNAMA