KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar on Tuesday as risk aversion strengthened the greenback, with investors remaining cautious amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

At 6pm, the ringgit eased to 3.9440/9495 against the US dollar at the close from 3.9225/9295 yesterday.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the focus remains on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. He noted that Qatar’s decision to stop liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports has led European natural gas prices to shoot up by 20 per cent in one day.

In the same vein, Brent crude is now hovering at US$82.48 per barrel as two drones reportedly attacked the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“Essentially, the risk-off mode is centred on the oil and gas industries, where disruption to supplies is the key risk to the global economy. Following this, the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose 0.45 per cent to 98.822 points,” he told Bernama.

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

It strengthened versus the euro to 4.5778/5842 from 4.6031/6113 at yesterday’s close and was slightly higher against the British pound at 5.2451/2524 from 5.2460/2553.

However, it edged down vis-à-vis the Japanese yen to 2.5010/5048 from 2.4984/5032. 

The local note traded mostly lower against its ASEAN peers.

It edged down versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0863/0909 from 3.0854/0912, slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 233.7/234.2 from 232.5/233.0, and fell versus the Philippine peso to 6.75/6.76 from 6.74/6.76.

However, the ringgit strengthened vis-à-vis the Thai baht to 12.4401/4637 from 12.4682/4980 at yesterday’s close. — Bernama

 Malay Mail – Money