The Malaysian ringgit and Philippine peso fell against a stronger US dollar as Federal Reserve minutes revived concerns over potential US interest rate hikes.

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit and Philippine peso were among ASEAN currencies pressured by a firmer US dollar at Tuesday’s close.

The move followed the latest Federal Open Market Committee minutes signalling that an interest rate hike remains possible.

At 6 pm, the ringgit eased to 3.9045/9125 against the greenback from Monday’s close of 3.8945/9055.

READ MORE: Ringgit opens lower vs US dollar following FOMC minutes

The Philippine peso closed lower at 57.996 against the US dollar, down from its previous close of 57.861.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said markets cannot rule out a US rate hike.

“This is because several participants in the FOMC meeting suggested a two-sided description should be embedded in their communique to the public, especially when the inflation could stay above the target level,” he told Bernama.

He noted the ringgit was seen to gyrate around 3.9110 and 3.9193 against the US dollar today.

At the close, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

It appreciated versus the Japanese yen to 2.5221/5275 from 2.5356/5430 at Monday’s close.

The local note strengthened against the euro to 4.6073/6168 from 4.6204/6335 yesterday.

It also rose vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.2730/2838 from 5.3137/3287 previously.

The ringgit traded mostly higher against its ASEAN peers.

It improved versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0817/0882 from 3.0860/0949 yesterday.

The local note was higher against the Thai baht at 12.5196/5521 from 12.5205/5619.

It edged up against the Indonesian rupiah to 231.1/231.6 from 231.4/232.2 at Monday’s close.

The ringgit was easier against the Philippine peso at 6.73/6.75 from 6.71/6.74 previously.

Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday in conjunction with the Chinese New Year public holiday.

 The Sun Malaysia