A customer counts her ringgit notes outside a money changer at the central business district in Singapore in this August 25, 2015 file photo. Malaysia's ringgit jumped more than 5 percent to a five-week high on October 7, 2015 on stop-loss dollar selling and higher local stocks. The ringgit, the worst performing Asian currency so far this year, surged as much as 5.2 percent to 4.1600 per dollar, its strongest since Sept 1. REUTERS/Edgar Su/Files

Malaysia: Ringgit slips as investors return to safe havens

  • May 28, 2021

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar today, as investors returned to safe-haven currencies due to cautious sentiment on the global market, a dealer said.

At 9.05am, the local currency declined to 4.1400/1450 against the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.1380/1410.

The dealer said investors reacted from the mixed US economic data, with the number of initial jobless claims came in lower than expected, which was usually bullish for the greenback.

“On the other hand, much weaker than expected Pending Home Sales data put the American currency under pressure. Gross domestic product (GDP) data, roughly in line with expectations, failed to clear investors’ doubts over the US economic recovery,” he said.

Meanwhile, the local note traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

The ringgit rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1245/1288 from Thursday’s close of 3.1258/1293 and strengthened vis-a-vis the euro to 5.0429/0507 from 5.0450/0499.

It also appreciated against the yen to 3.7657/7706 from 3.7890/7925 but weakened against the British pound to 5.8755/8830 from 5.8424/8479. – Bernama