Ringgit Extend Losses To End Lower Against US Dollar

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- The ringgit extended its losses to end lower against the US dollar today in line with most Asian currencies after the greenback rose to the highest level in 2018 as investors positioned for a Federal Reserve interest rate rise next month. At 6 pm, the ringgit stood at 4.1860/1900 versus the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.1780/1810. A dealer said the dollar has risen since the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady last week and reaffirmed its monetary tightening stance, remaining underpinned by the robust US economy. FXTM Global Head of Currency Strategy & Market Research Jameel Ahmad said another driver that is going to influence the performance of global financial markets now that the mid-term elections in the United States are out of the way is speculation over whether President Trump was acting sincerely with his promising comments that a trade deal with China could be on the horizon for later this month. “Concerns are beginning to mount that there is some scepticism over a trade deal being close to conclusion, which is another risk for emerging markets to contend with because it naturally discourages investor appetite from investing in riskier assets,” he said in a statement Monday. The local unit, however, was mostly higher against other major currencies. The ringgit rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0265/0299 from 3.0315/0341 on Friday, but vis-a-vis the Japanese yen, it depreciated to 3.6739/6780 from 3.6685/6714. It increased against the British pound to 5.3765/3833 from Friday’s 5.4343/4386, and strengthened against the euro to 4.7113/7175 from 4.7362/7413 previously. -- BERNAMA