KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar on economic uncertainties, said an analyst.

At 6 pm, the local note slid to 4.6575/6610 against the greenback from 4.6465/6495 at yesterday’s close.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said at the moment, uncertainties linger around what the US Federal Reserve might do in their next monetary decision.

“Therefore, the Jackson Hole summit this week will be the key platform that will be closely monitored for clues on the future outlook,” he told Bernama.

The Jackson Hole Symposium – a yearly gathering of global central bankers – runs from Aug 24 to 26, 2023, and would be closely monitored, in particular Fed chairman Jerome Powell’s speech on how the US monetary policy would evolve going forward.

The analyst also said the US Dollar Index (DXY) climbed 0.27 per cent to 103.839 points as demand for the greenback increased.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It rose against the euro to 5.0348/0385 from 5.0689/0721 on Tuesday, inched up vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.8880/8924 from 5.9406/9444 and slid against the Japanese yen to 3.2026/2052 from 3.1919/1942 previously.

The local note was mostly higher against other Asean currencies. It gained against the Singapore dollar to 3.4309/4340 from 3.4312/4336 on Tuesday and appreciated against the Thai baht to 13.2813/2970 from 13.2928/3079 previously.

It climbed vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 8.21/8.22 from 8.24/8.25 but slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 304.4/304.8 from 303.3/303.6 previously. – Bernama