KUALA LUMPUR (April 27): The ringgit retreated from Tuesday’s (April 26) gains to open slightly lower against the US dollar on Wednesday on renewed concern over the global economy outlook, said an analyst.
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At 9am, the local note stood at 4.3555/3585 versus the greenback from Tuesday’s close at 4.3545/3570.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the series of corporate earnings annoucements for the first quarter had been mixed, suggesting a challenging outlook as companies need to contend with rising business cost, especially that of raw material and labour.
“The geopolitical situation has been unsettling with Russia expected to halt gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria.
“Lockdown fears are also looming in Beijing after it started its mass testing requirement due to rising Covid-19 cases,” he told Bernama.
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Mohd Afzanizam said the external front had been unfriendly to emerging market currencies as market participants are anticipated to seek shelter against safe-haven currencies such as the US dollar and yen.
“As such, the ringgit should linger around its resistant level of 4.36 [against the greenback] today (Wednesday),” he added.
Meanwhile, the local note was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It slid versus the yen to 3.4142/4168 from Tuesday’s close at 3.4065/4087 but rose against the euro to 4.6356/6388 from 4.6532/6559.
It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.1584/1609 from Tuesday’s close at 3.1697/1720 and increased vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.4797/4834 from 5.5359/5391.-BERNAMA