KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — The ringgit ended the week marginally lower against the US dollar today for the third consecutive day of decline after the greenback continued to strengthen on talks over interest rate hike, an analyst said.

At 6pm, the local currency fell to 4.2195/2230 versus the greenback from 4.2180/2210 at yesterday’s close.

OANDA senior market analyst for Asia Pacific Jeffrey Halley said St Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard was the latest Fed head to come out with a series of hawkish statements on future monetary policy.

"The US dollar index closed higher at 99.75 with the greenback strength persisting as US long-dated yields edged higher.

"Some weakness has also crept into Asian currencies today, as the US dollar has strengthened across the board in Asia,” he said.

Meanwhile, at the close, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0953/0981 from 3.0996/1021 at yesterday’s close and strengthened vis-a-vis the euro to 4.5858/5896 from 4.5942/5975.

The local unit improved against the British pound to 5.5026/5072 from 5.5188/5228 yesterday and appreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.4004/4034 from 3.4093/4120 previously. — Bernama