KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit traded lower against the US dollar today as demand for the safe-haven greenback rose across the board amid worries over the worsening global economic outlook.
At 9.05am, the ringgit was quoted at 4.3600/3690 against the US dollar, compared with Thursday’s close of 4.3480/3550.
An analyst said last week’s US initial jobless claims, which doubled to 6.65 million due to the impact of Covid-19 on the economy, have driven investors to seek shelter in the greenback.
In addition, investors are looking forward to local February export and import data scheduled to be released today.
Meanwhile, AxiCorp global chief market strategist Stephen Innes said the jump in the price of crude oil should see the ringgit trade higher.
“(But) while the bounce in oil does not signal a green light for the ringgit, we’re in a much better position today than we were mid-week, which is a good thing for local sentiment,” he added.
Investors are also responding positively to FTSE Russell’s announcement to keep Malaysia on its World Government Bond Index (WGBI) watch list at the interim review.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It marginally improved vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7271/7386 compared to the 4.7537/7631at Thursday’s close, and appreciated against the British pound to 5.3981/4114 from 5.4180/4285.
The local unit also rose versus the Japanese yen to 4.0363/0450 from 4.0518/0591, but fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.0441/0508 from 3.0395/0457 yesterday. - Bernama