Ringgit falls to 2.98 against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit depreciated to 2.9805/9835 to the US dollar in the early session today from 2.9765/9800 yesterday, amid the lack of commercial demand, dealers said.

A dealer said the weakening ringgit was also in line with other Asian currencies following a rebound of the greenback due to upbeat US manufacturing data.

He added that the US dollar also gained on speculation that the Federal Reserve would not be unveiling a third round of stimulus measures to boost the economy.

The dealer said the forex market is unlikely to see any major moves until a much awaited speech by US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke on Friday, which will determine whether a third round of quantitative easing is needed.

Against other major currencies, the ringgit traded higher.

It rose against the Singapore dollar to 2.4665/4710 from 2.4675/4724 on Wednesday and also against the yen to 3.8688/8752 from 3.8883/8949.

The ringgit gained against the British pound to 4.8764/8822 from
4.9139/9203 as well as against the euro to 4.2895/2950 from 4.2957/3019. - Bernama