A Malaysia Ringgit note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. — Reuters pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar today as market traders remained in a cautious mood with the escalating trade tension between the US and China continuing to add uncertainty to the global economic outlook.
At 6pm, the ringgit finished at 4.2010/2050 against the greenback from 4.1900/1930 on Friday.
A dealer said US President Donald Trump announced last Friday that America will hike tariffs on US$250 billion worth of Chinese goods to 30 per cent from 25 per cent.
“Trump said that tariffs on another US$300 billion in Chinese products will also go up to 15 per cent from 10 per cent. The levies on the US$50 billion worth of goods are scheduled to kick in on Oct 1, while the duties on the US$300 billion are set to go into effect in two stages on Sept 1 and Dec 15.
“Meanwhile, China unveiled new tariffs last Friday on US$75 billion of US goods,” the dealer added.
The ringgit traded lower against other major currencies.
It was traded weaker against the yen at 3.9715/9764 from 3.9284/9327 and versus the euro at 4.6698/6760 from 4.6333/6383 previously.
The local unit was lower against the Singapore dollar at 3.0267/0300 from 3.0213/0237 and vis-a-vis the British pound at 5.1412/1478 from 5.1147/1201. — Bernama