Ringgit catches cold as US turns up tariff heat
At 8 am, the local note depreciated to 4.2345/2430 versus the greenback from Monday's close of 4.2310/2400.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose by 0.31 per cent to 97.480 points following the US government's announcement that the pause period for the reciprocal tariff would expire soon.
The tariff rate for Malaysia has been revised up slightly to 25 per cent from 24 per cent prior to the pause.
Mohd Afzanizam noted that under the latest round of tariffs announced, some countries — such as Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Bosnia — are seeing a reduction in tariff rates compared with the figures given in April, while others will have unchanged or slightly higher rates.
'As for Malaysia, the tariff rate has been revised upward to 25 per cent from 24 per cent previously. We believe this will influence market sentiment today, likely leading to a risk-off mode,' he told Bernama.
In this regard, Mohd Afzanizam said, the ringgit could trade on a cautious note, possibly around RM4.23 to RM4.25 today.
At market open, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local currency appreciated versus the Japanese yen to 2.9029/9092 from 2.9091/9155 at Monday's close.
However, it eased against the British pound to 5.7691/7807 from 5.7563/7685 yesterday and declined vis-à-vis the euro to 4.9700/9800 from 4.9647/9752 previously.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against its Asean counterparts with the exception of the Thai baht.
It rose versus the Thai baht to 12.9745/13.0082 from 12.9837/13.0173 at yesterday's close.
However, the ringgit slipped vis-à-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.3110/3180 from 3.3096/3172 on Monday, weakened against the Indonesian rupiah to 260.7/261.3 from 260.5/261.2 previously, and edged down versus the Philippine peso to 7.47/7.49 from 7.46/7.48. — Bernama
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