KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 — The ringgit settled slightly lower against the US dollar today on the lack of buyers, a dealer said.
At 6pm, the ringgit was quoted at 4.1350/1380 against the greenback from 4.1320/1350 on Tuesday.
AxiCorp’s chief market strategist Stephen Innes said markets also reacted negatively to the weaker-than- expected 2019 fourth-quarter (Q4) gross domestic product (GDP) performance.
“But with Covid-19 outbreak apparently peaking, this should lead to a more risk-friendly environment and the ringgit weakness should likely be capped after factoring in the expected economic slowdown,” he told Bernama.
Earlier today, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announced that the local economy expanded by 3.6 per cent in Q4 2019, dragging the full-year GDP growth down to 4.3 per cent — the lowest since the 2009 financial crisis — amid supply disruptions in the commodity sector.
On ringgit valuation, BNM Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said the local note will continue to be influenced by external developments in 2020.
The ringgit was traded mostly lower against other major currencies.
It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.9817/9858 from yesterday’s close of 2.9780/9806 and fell against the euro to 4.5150/5195 from 4.5088/5138.
The local currency increased vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.7591/7625 from 3.7608/7639 on Tuesday but declined against the British pound to 5.3668/3724 from 5.3456/3511. — Bernama
