Ringgit Slips, Snaps 3-Day Winning Streak On Profit-Taking

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 (Bernama) -- The ringgit turned lower against the US dollar on Friday, snapping three consecutive days of gains amid profit-taking activities. At 9 am, the local currency was traded at 4.1560/1610 versus the greenback compared with 4.1470/1520 yesterday. AxiCorp chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said with oil getting hammered overnight, he expects the ringgit to take on a more defensive posture, compounded by a drop in liquidity due to China's Golden Week, exaggerating price action on any orders going through. The oil fell three per cent amid rising COVID-19 cases globally with the Brent and West Texas Intermediate hovering between US$40 and US$38 per barrel level, respectively. Locally, Malaysia reported 260 new cases of the COVID-19 yesterday, the second-highest since February 2020. Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mixed against other major currencies. It declined against the Singapore dollar to 3.0456/0504 from yesterday's close of 3.0426/0473 and was lower against the British pound at 5.3496/3569 from 5.3281/3362. The local currency fell against the euro to 4.8746/8821 from 4.8723/8794 and depreciated versus the yen to 3.9371/9426 from 3.9278/9341. -- BERNAMA