Malaysian Ringgit Ends Lower Against US Dollar

KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Bernama) -- After two-day of consecutive gains, the Malaysian ringgit ended lower on minor profit-taking against the US dollar Wednesday, as weaker crude oil price dampened demand for the local note. At 6 pm, the local unit was traded at 4.4520/4570 against the greenback from 4.4450/4490 at 6pm Tuesday. A dealer said oil futures Brent and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell in Asian trade today as industry data indicated a potential nine straight weeks of inventory build-up, renewing market woes over global oversupply of oil. The benchmark Brent futures edged down 0.4 per cent while the WTI crude fell 0.6 per cent, and this triggered profit-taking on the ringgit today, he added. Another dealer said the ringgit's decline was also due to rising US Treasury yields. Investors were now awaiting Friday's US job data to determine the market's direction. The ringgit finished mixed against other major currencies. It was almost unchanged against the Singapore dollar at 3.1490/1529 from 3.1491/1524 and versus the yen, it fell to 3.9039/9093 from 3.8991/9030. The local note appreciated against the British pound to 5.4145/4219 from 5.4238/4291 on Tuesday and was lower against the euro at 4.6991/7048 from yesterday's 4.6953/6999. -- BERNAMA