RINGGIT DEPRECIATES AGAINST US DOLLAR AHEAD OF US TARIFF ANNOUNCEMENT

By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Bernama) -- The ringgit depreciated against the US dollar at the close today as traders and investors are concerned about the reciprocal tariff announcement by the United States (US) government later today, said an analyst.

At 6 pm, the ringgit slid to 4.4510/4565 against the greenback from last Friday’s close of 4.4330/4355.

The currency pair and Malaysian markets were closed for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri public holiday on Monday and Tuesday.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said details of the tariff would be closely scrutinised as this would determine the impact of such a trade war.

“It remains to be seen how such a move can reset the global trade given the intricacy of the global supply chain as it might take years to shift production back to the US soil.

“Such a transition could result in slower global growth. Thus far, survey data such as business and consumer sentiments have weakened considerably,” he told Bernama. 

Mohd Afzanizam said that the Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda has warned Japanese lawmakers that the US tariff would have a significant impact on global trade.

“Market sentiment in the currency sector is expected to remain cautious, with traders likely favouring safe-haven currencies like the US dollar to mitigate excessive volatility,” he added. 

Meanwhile, the ringgit was also traded lower against major currencies.

It edged down against the Japanese yen to 2.9783/9821 from 2.9438/9456, eased against the euro to 4.8098/8157 from 4.7761/7788, and weakened against the British pound to 5.7632/7703 from 5.7407/7440 last Friday.

The local note was mixed against ASEAN currencies. 

It marginally increased versus the Thai baht to 13.0260/0490 from 13.0390/0533, and was slightly better against the Indonesian rupiah to 266.3/266.7 from 267.7/267.9 last Friday. 

However, it fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.3150/3193 from 3.3040/3061 and slid versus the Philippine peso to 7.78/7.79 from 7.72/7.73 previously.

-- BERNAMA