Weak Oil Prices Drag Ringgit Lower In Early Trade

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- The ringgit extended Tuesday's downtrend against the US dollar in early trade Wednesday, as the local note was dampened by weaker oil prices amid the on-going Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting. At 9.02 am, the ringgit was quoted at 4.1320/1370 to the greenback against 4.1220/1270 on Tuesday. A dealer said forex market sentiment was clouded by the three-day OPEC meeting that began on Monday, especially after Iran and Saudi Arabia played down expectations for a deal to limit oil production Tuesday. It was reported that both countries described the meeting as a "consultative gathering" and the discussions in the "gathering would only serve as a warm-up for the next formal November OPEC meeting in Vienna". This has caused global benchmark Brent crude oil prices to fall 2.9 per cent to US$45.97 a barrel on Tuesday, while crude oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down by 2.7 per cent to US$44.67 a barrel. Meanwhile, the local note was traded lower against other major currencies except the euro. It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.0382/0437 from 3.0322/0370 on Tuesday and marginally weakened versus the yen to 4.1074/1144 from 4.1035/1093. The local note also declined against the British pound to 5.3716/3806 from 5.3335/3424, but slightly appreciated against the euro to 4.6316/6376 from 4.6352/6425. -- BERNAMA