Stronger US dollar curbs demand for ringgit

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar today as the positive sentiment for the greenback curbed interest for local currency.

As at 6pm, the local note was quoted at 4.1590/1630 against the US dollar compared with Friday’s close of 4.1580/1610.

A dealer said the upbeat US payrolls for November coupled with the anticipation of unchanged US interest rate by the US Federal Reserve had spurred risk appetite for the US dollar,

After cutting rates three times this year to shield the US economy from the global slowdown, the central bank is expected to keep rates steady at its meeting this Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against other major currencies.

The local currency depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.0581/0615 from 3.0571/0605 on Friday, weakened versus the Japanese yen to 3.8328/8372 from 3.8284/8315 and contracted against the British pound to 5.4703/4773 from 5.4570/4613 previously.

The ringgit, however, rose vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6015/6076 from Friday’s 4.6137/6179. — Bernama