Ringgit Extends Fall Versus US Dollar For Seventh Straight Day

By Sharifah Pirdaus Syed Ali KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 (Bernama) -- The ringgit extended its fall to the seventh consecutive day Friday and in line with other emerging currencies, as the greenback remained tilted to an upside, dealers said. At 6 pm, the ringgit stood at 4.1730/1770 versus the greenback from 4.1680/1710 on Thursday. A dealer said the local unit was pressured by an extended risk-off in the markets, moreso heading into the week’s close. OANDA Head of Trading Asia-Pacific Stephen Innes said the US dollar remained strong ahead of the country’s Gross Domestic Product growth figures to be released tonight and supported by comments from Federal Reserve Vice Chair, Richard Clarida, which affirmed a bullish outlook for the world’s largest economy. “All eyes are on the Chinese yuan’s performance against the US dollar today as the pair broke above the 6.67 level which had a negative influence on all ASEAN currencies. “Meanwhile, the slide in crude oil prices which headed for a third weekly loss, was also not supportive of the ringgit,” he told Bernama. However, the ringgit traded higher against other major currencies, except the Japanese yen. The local unit improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.0154/0189 from 3.0214/0242 on Thursday, and vis-a-vis the euro, improved to 4.7384/7438 from 4.7549/7595. The ringgit rose against the British pound to 5.3419/3495 from 5.3780/3835 on Thursday, but slipped against the Japanese yen to 3.7282/7321 from 3.7098/7135. -- BERNAMA