THE ringgit eased against the US dollar in the early session as sentiment towards the local note was affected by the weaker global oil price.
At 9.20am, the ringgit was quoted at 4.3600/3700 against the US dollar from 4.3350/3400 at the close yesterday.
A dealer said demand for the ringgit was hampered after global oil price slumped below US$20 per barrel due to concerns that demand might decline as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“WTI Crude oil was trading 1.59% lower at US$19.77 per barrel while Brent Crude Oil declined 3.72% to US$28.60 per barrel,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It declined vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.0549/0632 from 3.0487/0529 and weakened against the yen to 4.0438/0542 from 4.0371/0425 yesterday.
The local note was also lower against the British pound at 5.4430/4573 from 5.4270/4350 and decreased against the euro to 4.7441/7567 from 4.7390/7462. – April 16, 2020, Bernama
