KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit continued to be traded lower for the second consecutive day against the US dollar, a dealer said.
At 9.09 am, the local unit was quoted at 3.9840/9900 versus the greenback from 3.9750/9800 at 6 pm on Monday.
FXTM Research Analyst Lukman Otunuga said the dollar index appreciated with ferocity following the impressive US retail sales report, which boosted expectations over the Federal Reserve raising US rates in 2016.
“For an extended period, US data has followed a positive trajectory and the firm US retail sales add to the prerequisites that fulfil the domestic requirement for a potential US rate hike in the future,” he added.
The ringgit was mostly weaker against a basket of major currencies.
Versus the Singapore dollar, the local currency fell to 2.9491/9558 from 2.9460/9501 but against the yen it strengthened to 3.7620/7688 from 3.7635/7693.
Vis-a-vis the British pound, the ringgit fell to 5.2736/2844 from 5.2565/2659 while against the euro, it eased to 4.4079/4161 from 4.3892/3963 on Monday. -- Bernama