Ringgit remains on a downtrend in early session

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit continued to remain on a downtrend against the US dollar in the early session today due to the prevailing risk-off mode.

At 9.20 am, the local note slid to 4.4475/4500 versus the greenback from Tuesday's closing rate of 4.4460/4500.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the United States (US) consumer price index would be closely monitored as investors look for signs of a pause in the US interest rate hike.

"China's trade data, which revealed that exports moderated to 8.5 per cent year-on-year in April from 14.8 per cent in March, suggests that global growth will stay wobbly.

"At the same time, the hawkish US Federal Reserve officials alongside looming debt ceiling drama in Capitol Hill indicate that markets will remain guarded in the near term," he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

Although it was lower vis-a-vis the British pound at 5.6181/6212 versus 5.6126/6177 at Tuesday's close, it had appreciated against the euro to 4.8798/8825 from 4.8835/8879 yesterday and went up against the Japanese yen to 3.2910/2931 from 3.2963/2995 previously.

However, the local note traded lower against Asean currencies.

It slipped to 3.3528/3549 against the Singapore dollar compared with 3.3522/3557 on Tuesday and fell versus the Indonesian rupiah to 301.7/301.9 from 301.6/301.9 yesterday.

The local note also declined vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 13.2193/2322 from 13.1835/2016 and went down against the Philippines' peso to 7.98/7.99 from 7.97/7.98 previously.

-- BERNAMA