KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — The ringgit ended marginally lower against the US dollar on Monday, extending its loss for a sixth consecutive session on cautious market sentiment ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for December 17-18.

At 6pm, the local currency dipped to 4.4500/4550 against the greenback, compared to Friday’s close of 4.4475/4525.

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the spotlight this week will be on the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) forward guidance, with a cautious outlook for 2025 seen strengthening the US dollar while exerting downward pressure on other currencies, including the ringgit.

"This week is pivotal for global markets, with several key central bank meetings on the agenda, most notably the Fed, which is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points,” he added.

Meanwhile, Innes noted that China’s retail sector has shown signs of weakness, with November’s year-over-year sales growth slumping to 3 per cent, the lowest in three months and a steep drop from October’s 4.8 per cent. "This underscores the diminishing effects of recent stimulus measures and adds further pressure on the ringgit, given Malaysia’s heavy reliance on exports to China,” he said.

The ringgit traded mostly lower against other major currencies.

It depreciated versus the British pound to 5.6301/6365 from 5.6203/6266 and fell against the euro to 4.6743/6795 from 4.6632/6684 at Friday’s close. However, it increased against the Japanese yen to 2.8930/8964 from 2.8987/9022 previously.

The ringgit also traded mostly lower against ASEAN currencies.

It dropped marginally against the Singapore dollar to 3.2992/3032 versus 3.2971/3011, went down versus the Thai baht to 13.0575/0795 from 13.0261/0472 and dipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 278.0/278.5 from 277.7/278.2 on Friday.

The local note appreciated vis-à-vis against the Philippine peso to 7.58/7.60 from 7.60/7.62 at last week’s close. — Bernama