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Ringgit closes lower amid cautious sentiment over China data, FOMC minutes
KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar on Monday, as cautious sentiment prevailed in the foreign exchange market.
This came on the back of China’s weaker economic data and amid jitters ahead the Federal Open Market Committee minutes to be released on Wednesday.
At 6pm, the ringgit depreciated to 3.9720/9770 versus the greenback from 3.9515/9580 at last Friday’s close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said data points in China took the centre stage with its fixed-asset investment shrinking 1.6 per cent in the first four months of 2026 against the consensus estimate of 1.7 per cent growth.
“In addition, retail sales grew at a significantly slower rate of 0.2 per cent (year-on-year) during April after posting 1.7 per cent growth in the previous month while the industrial production growth moderated to 4.1 per cent from 5.7 per cent previously.
“Hence, the April figures showed China’s economy is slowing amid the supply shock in the oil and gas sector following the war in Iran which erupted on Feb 28 this year. As such, market sentiment was cautious throughout the day,” he told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit traded mostly easier against a basket of major currencies.
It strengthened versus the British pound to 5.3078/3145 from 5.3094/3135 at Friday’s close, but fell against the Japanese yen to 2.4991/5024 from 2.4886/4907 at the end of last week and slid vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6214/6272 from 4.6009/6044 previously.
The local currency traded easier against regional peers.
It eased versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1036/1078 from 3.0867/0893 on Friday, fell against the Philippine peso to 6.43/6.45 from 6.37/6.38 previously, weakened vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.1646/1848 from 12.1506/1652, and slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 224.8/225.1 from 224.1/224.4. — Bernama
