KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit depreciated against the US dollar today following a decision by Fitch Ratings to lower Malaysia’s overall debt rating to A-1, an analyst said.
At 6 pm, the local note closed at 4.0580 / 0620 on Friday, comfortably at 120 basis points (bps) against the greenback at 4.0700 / 0740.
Dr Mohammad Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, chief economist at Bank Islam Malaysia Bhad, said the news on the rating showed that Ringgit had taken an unstable trip this week.
“To some extent, the news was not entirely sudden as Fitch downgraded its rating from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’ in April this year.
“Given the large size of our budget gap next year, such a response from rating agencies should be part of the vision,” he told Barnama.
He said the current resistance level for Ringgit was located at 4.0809 and the next resistance level will be at 4.1512.
However, the ringgit traded higher than other major currencies.
It rose from 3.0461 / 0498 to 3.0403 / 0442 near the Singapore dollar last Friday and reached 5.3997 / 3054 against the British pound’s 5.4698 / 4772.
The ringgit strengthened against the euro at 4.9210 / 9275 and 4.9366 / 9430 against the euro on Friday last week and was slightly higher against the Japanese yen at 3.9022 / 9072 and 3.9023 / 9080. – The program
