THE ringgit reversed the previous day’s gains to close lower against the greenback today due to lower Industrial Production Index (IPI) data and a technical correction after appreciating over the last three trading days, an analyst said. 

At 6pm, the ringgit slid to 4.6675/6725 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.6340/6400.

The Statistics Department reportedly said Malaysia’s IPI, which consists of three sectors, namely, mining, manufacturing and electricity, slipped by 0.5% year-on-year in September.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said today’s IPI showed that the Malaysian economy is susceptible to the external environment.

Hence, he said the central bank is expected to maintain their accommodative stance to support overall growth.

On another note, Afzanizam said it is quite common for the local note to undergo some technical correction given its sharp appreciation since last Friday’s publication of the US non-farm payroll.

“From a technical standpoint, the US$-RM is currently hovering slightly above the prevailing support level of RM4.6611 while the resistant level is at RM4.7958.

“Perhaps, the markets are still anxious about the Federal Reserve’s monetary stance and the next US Federal Open Market Committee meeting on December 12-13 will be quite crucial as it will share its latest economic projection,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the ringgit traded mostly lower versus a basket of major currencies.

It eased against the Japanese yen to 3.1026/1061 from 3.0959/1002 at yesterday’s close, decreased versus the euro to 4.9863/9916 from 4.9806/9871 but strengthened against the British pound to 5.7415/7476 from 5.7462/7536.

The ringgit also turned lower against other Asean currencies.

It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.4444/4483 from 3.4341/4388 yesterday and shrank against the Thai baht to 13.1154/1346 from 13.0521/0741.

It was also down against the Philippine peso to 8.31/8.33 from 8.29/8.30 and slipped vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 298.4/298.9 from 298.1/298.7 at the close yesterday. – Bernama, November 7, 2023.