KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit remained marginally lower against the US dollar today, in line with other emerging currencies, driven by concerns over the bearish economic outlook, dealers said.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland president Loretta Mester said the US central bank will likely need to raise rates again this year and then hold them at higher levels for some time to get inflation back to its 2% target.
Back home, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said Malaysia’s economy remains resilient while anchored by domestic-oriented activities and will continue to be supported by labour market conditions and investments moving into next year.
In his speech at the 13th International Conference on Financial Crime and Terrorism Financing (IFCTF) today, Rasheed said the labour market conditions, particularly employment and wages, have continued to improve, supporting households’ ability to spend.
At 6pm, the local currency slipped to 4.7215/4.7255 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.7150/4.7195.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher versus a basket of major currencies.
However, it went down against the yen to 3.1504/3.1533 from 3.1492/3.1524 at yesterday’s close.
It rose against the euro to 4.9500/4.9542 from 4.9677/4.9725 yesterday and appreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.7031/5.7079 from 5.7358/5.7413.
The local currency was also traded mixed against other Asian currencies.
It increased versus the Thai baht to 12.7381/12.7540 from 12.7626/12.7796 yesterday and rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 303.0/303.4 from 303.5/304 previously.
It was easier against the Philippine peso at 8.31/8.32 compared with yesterday’s closing of 8.30/8.31 and strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.4366/3.4400 from 3.4373/3.4409 previously.