Weak US Dollar Sentiment To Help Spur Ringgit Next Week

By Zairina Zainudin KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (Bernama) -- The weak sentiment for the US dollar ollowing the recent missile attacks on Syria will help spur positive demand for the ringgit next week, dealers said. Last Friday, the United States launched its cruise missile attacks on a Syrian airbase, sparking growing tension in the foreign exchange and stocks markets. Another dealer said amid the pressure, most market players would closely monitor progress of the summit meeting between two world leaders, US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. "It must be kept in mind that participants were already jittery ahead of the Trump-Xi summit and this fresh development may compound the horrible cocktail of uncertainty. "These will influence the movement of the US dollar and indirectly impact on other currencies, including the ringgit," he told Bernama, adding there were lack of market moving factors on the domestic front. For the week just-ended, the ringgit moved between 4.4260 and 4.4360 against the US dollar, mostly influenced by external factors such as the Trump-Xi summit, weak economic data from the US, and the Syria attack. On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit was traded lower at 4.4335/4365 against the greenback compared to 4.4230/4280 recorded on last Friday. Against other major currencies, the local note finished mixed. It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1616/1649 from 3.1640/1685 last Friday and strengthened versus the euro to 4.7159/7195 from 4.7198/7260. The local currency, however, fell against the yen to 4.0075/0106 from last week's 3.9502/9550 and weakened vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.5108/5155 from 5.5009/5080 previously. -- BERNAMA