Malaysian Ringgit Ends Lower Against US Dollar

By Siti Radziah Hamzah KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian ringgit eased further at close Wednesday on weak sentiment owing to the ongoing Turkish lira crisis and ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia’s announcement on the second quarter economic growth on Friday, said a dealer. At 6 pm, the ringgit closed at 4.1020/1050 against the US dollar from Tuesday's 4.0950/1000. The dealer said the weakening of the ringgit for the last few days was due to the external factor, namely the strengthening of the US dollar amid trade and geopolitical uncertainties. However, Malaysia's macroeconomic fundamentals were solid, he added. The dealer noted that the current episode of trade tension and recent Turkish lira crisis had caused volatility in the market. "As far as lira is concern, investors were driven principally by fear of contagion effect. In this regards, the ringgit performed relatively better compared with other emerging market currencies. Year-to-date, the ringgit fell 1.4 per cent against the US dollar,” the analyst told Bernama. The ringgit traded better against other major currencies. The local unit rose against the yen to 3.6872/6909 against 3.6909/6964 on Tuesday and slightly higher against the Singapore dollar at 2.9712/9744 from 2.9795/9851 yesterday. It appreciated against the British pound to 5.2177/2220 versus 5.2330/2410 and strengthened against the euro to 4.6447/6489 from 4.6699/6769. -- BERNAMA