Ringgit Ends Lower Against US Dollar

KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 (Bernama) -- The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar in line with most emerging Asian currencies, as the greenback rose to a three-week high against major currencies, said a dealer. At 6 pm Monday, the local currency stood at 4.1390/1420 versus the greenback compared with last Friday’s close of 4.1340/1370. She attributed the weaker Asian currencies, including the ringgit, to a solid US job data released last week, which lowered the investors’ expectations of a US Federal Reserve interest rate cut. At the close, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies. It rose against the Japanese yen to 3.8158/8189 from 3.8267/8306 on Friday, strengthened versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0436/0463 from 3.0460/0493 and improved against the euro to 4.6473/6511 from 4.6557/6607 previously. The local currency, however, traded unchanged against the pound at 5.1882/1937 from 5.1882/1932. -- BERNAMA