KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — The ringgit ended slightly lower versus the greenback amid quiet trading today as investors awaited the upcoming overnight policy rate (OPR) announcement by the central bank on July 7.
As at 6pm, the ringgit was quoted at 4.2840/2900 compared with 4.2830/2890 yesterday.
An analyst said the ringgit had remained quiet over the week as investors were still waiting for key economic data as well as the OPR announcement, with another rate cut seen on the horizon.
“As the local economy is still struggling to restart post-Covid-19, I believe that another 25 basis points will be reduced from the OPR.
“The move is seen necessary as the job market continues to struggle. It will also complement the stimulus packages provided by the government in supporting the economy,” she said.
On the global market, she said investors continued to stay on the sidelines after global equity markets as well as emerging market currencies took the worst hit in the first half this year due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
“We can see that Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund has lost 11 per cent or US$164.7 billion in both global and local equities. This has sparked concerns for other investors on the projected losses in the first half as the second quarter is seen to have the sharpest economic contraction,” she said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against other benchmark currencies.
The local note rose against the British pound to 5.3332/3423 from 5.3597/3690 yesterday and inched up versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0718/0766 from 3.0751/0799 but slightly declined against the euro to 4.8101/8185 from 4.8007/8068.
The ringgit, meanwhile, was up vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.9855/9918 from 3.9857/9924 on Thursday. — Bernama
