KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 5): The ringgit continued its downward momentum from last week to open marginally lower against the US dollar on Monday (Sept 5), as investors reacted to the positive US jobs data released last week, an analyst said. “The ringgit is seen to benefit from Bank Negara Malaysia’s potential 25 bps overnight policy rate hike, and the European Central Bank’s widely anticipated 75 bps interest rate hike. Kenanga Research said the ringgit had shed all of its gains against the US dollar last week, mainly due to a lack of pro-ringgit catalysts and deteriorating global economic prospects. “On top of continuation of safe-haven flows into the US dollar, the ringgit was dragged down by persistent weakness in the yuan (around 6.90 per US dollar), as China extended its lockdown in the city of Chengdu,” it added. The local unit appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.1968/1998 from last Friday's close at 3.1996/2009, and rose against the pound to 5.1522/1568 from 5.1888/1906.
