Malaysian Ringgit Ends Lower Against US Dollar As Risk-Off Mood Weighs

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian ringgit closed lower against the US dollar on Monday as investors continued to remain "risk off" during this period, with a strict reduction in trader appetite towards emerging market (EM) assets. At 6 pm, the ringgit closed at 4.0900/0950 against the greenback versus 4.0830/0870 last Friday. FXTM Global Head of Currency Strategy and Market Research Jameel Ahmad said global markets throughout this week were likely to remain dictated by external pressures, most likely being encouraged by the intense risks around the Turkish lira crisis. “This means that EM currencies, like the ringgit, will be off the table for investors and we can expect the ringgit to take guidance from the lira crisis. If the lira continues to worry global investors, the ringgit alongside other EM currencies will suffer from the risk-off environment,” he said in a statement. Meanwhile, the ringgit was mostly higher against other major currencies. It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.9696/9743 from 2.9781/9813 last Friday, strengthened against the British pound to 5.2139/2219 from 5.2193/2248 and improved vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6544/6617 from 4.6779/6837 previously. However, the local currency weakened versus the Japanese yen to 3.7054/7109 from 3.6800/6846 last Friday. -- BERNAMA