KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit closed easier against the US dollar today, in line with the disappointing crude oil prices and decline in global stock markets.
At 6pm, the local currency was traded at 4.1550/1600 versus the greenback compared with 4.1500/1570 at yesterday’s closing.
Oanda Asia Pacific senior market analyst, Jeffrey Halley, said US President Donald Trump broke off stimulus talks with congressional Democrats and announced his intention to only enact a new package after winning the election.
“The politicisation of the stimulus package was almost inevitable. It came after the Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman Jerome Powell earlier in the day reiterated the Fed had done most of what it could, and that action needed to come from the fiscal side,” he told Bernama today.
At the time of writing, Brent crude oil trimmed 1.64% to US$41.95 (RM174) per barrel.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against other major currencies.
It slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.0567/0608 from 3.0521/0577 on Tuesday, but rose against the British pound at 5.3529/3610 from 5.3821/3929.
The local currency improved against the euro to 4.8854/8930 from 4.8879/8974 yesterday, and appreciated versus the yen to 3.9161/9219 from 3.9303/9373 previously. – Bernama, October 7, 2020
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