KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — The ringgit eased against the US dollar at the close today amid cautious sentiment ahead of the United States (US) presidential election next week, said an analyst.

At 6 pm, the local note was at 4.3605/3640 against the US dollar from Friday’s close of 4.3405/3450.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the greenback remained at the forefront with uncertainties in the Japanese economy following the election during the weekend, which led to a weaker Japanese yen.

He added that the US Federal Reserve might not seem in a hurry to cut rates aggressively while other developed countries would continue to cut rates.

"This would give an edge to the US dollar in the near term.

"On that note, the ringgit could stay weak in the near term while all eyes will be observing the US presidential election next week,” Mohd Afzanizam told Bernama.

At the close, the ringgit was mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

It edged up versus the Japanese yen to 2.8521/8545 versus 2.8554/8586 at Friday’s close, while it decreased vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6564/6610 from 5.6348/6407 and slipped against the euro to 4.7159/7197 from 4.6977/7026 previously.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower versus ASEAN currencies.

It fell against the Philippine peso to 7.48/7.49 versus 7.44/7.45 at the close on Friday and depreciated vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar at 3.2979/3008 versus 3.2870/2907.

The local currency was slightly higher against the Indonesian rupiah to 277.2/277.6 from 277.3/277.8 at the previous close and slid versus the Thai baht to 12.8780/8933 from 12.8425/8619. — Bernama