KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar today, in tandem with other emerging Asian currencies on lingering concerns over the 2019 novel coronavirus impact, dealers said.
At 6 pm, the ringgit was quoted at 4.1360/1400 against the US dollar from 4.1200/1250 on Thursday.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said despite a better performance in the US equities overnight, Asian markets appeared struggling to follow the global benchmark.
“Obviously, financial markets are still fixated with the coronavirus outbreak with the number of casualties continuing to build up.
“So risk aversion trade is still very much prevalent, leading to higher demand for the safe-haven currencies,” he added.
Mohd Afzanizam said China’s announcement to halve tariffs on 1,717 goods it imports from the US, signalling that the Phase One trade deal signed on Jan 15 is gaining traction, also helped support the greenback.
A dealer said the US dollar remained firmed across the board, after hitting a new 2020 peaks near 98.60 in the previous session, driven by upbeat US data and virus concerns.
“The market is turning attention to tonight’s US job report for further market direction,” she added.
Against other major currencies, the ringgit was traded mixed.
It gained against the Singapore dollar to 2.9730/9769 from 2.9739/9786 on Thursday and strengthened versus the euro to 4.5306/5354 from 4.5312/5375 yesterday.
The local currency depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.7672/7712 from 3.7495/7555 yesterday and decreased against the British pound to 5.3466/3534 from 5.3445/3526. – Ferb 7, 2020, Bernama
