At 6pm July 26, 2019, the ringgit stood at 4.1180/1210 from yesterday’s close of 4.1130/1160. — AFP pic
KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 — The ringgit closed slightly lower against the US dollar today as investors awaited developments from two significant events next week, namely the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting, as well as US-China trade talks.
At 6pm, the ringgit stood at 4.1180/1210 from yesterday’s close of 4.1130/1160.
FXTM market analyst Han Tan said as trade talk between US and China resumes on Tuesday in Shanghai, investors remained cautious over the meeting.
“Given that the protracted trade conflict remains the key driver on global market sentiment, investors may overreact to the slightest developments on the US-China impasse,” he told Bernama today.
He added that investors also remained on the sideline as the US Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower interest rates for the first time since 2008, with a 25-basis points cut, according to market forecasts.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It was slightly higher against the Singapore dollar at 3.0091/0118 from 3.0116/0143 yesterday and rose against the yen to 3.7905/7936 from 3.8048/8086.
The local currency also gained versus the British pound to 5.1211/1265 from 5.1314/1372, but slid vis-a-vis the euro to 4.5879/5920 from 4.5765/5815. — Bernama