Ringgit Closes Lower Against US Dollar On Bearish Sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 (Bernama) -- The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar Friday in line with regional currencies on bearish sentiment, amid escalating global trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainty. At 6 pm, the ringgit closed at 4.0830/0870 against the greenback versus 4.0740/0770 on Thursday. A dealer said appetite towards emerging market assets received a knock following sanctions imposed on Russia and the reintroduction of sanctions on Iran, triggering fears of geopolitical uncertainty, alongside woes to sentiment that had already deteriorated due to the ongoing global trade tensions. “The combined impact of these events spiked risk aversion, hitting Asian stocks and currency markets,” he added. Meanwhile, the ringgit was mostly higher against other major currencies. It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.9781/9813 from 2.9883/9914 on Thursday, but decreased versus the Japanese yen to 3.6800/6846 from 3.6653/6687. The local currency strengthened against the British pound to 5.2193/2248 from 5.2498/2544, and improved vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6779/6837 from 4.7230/7277. -- BERNAMA