Ringgit continues decline against dollar, closing in on 4.8 mark

The ringgit has continued its downward trend against the US dollar, opening lower this morning at 4.7850/7895 from yesterday's close of 4.7780/7830. 

The local currency also declined against the euro to 5.0525/0572 from 5.0494/0547 on Wednesday, as well as the Indonesian rupiah to 301.4/301.9 from 301.0/301.5, and the Philippine peso to 8.41/8.42 from 8.40/8.41.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said he expected the trend to continue following the latest batch of positive US economic data.

"On that note, the ringgit is likely to remain soft within the RM4.78 range today as market sentiments remain guarded, which favours the greenback's outlook," he was qouted as saying by Bernama.

On Oct 19, the ringgit fell to its lowest level in 25 years, dropping 0.3% to 4.7635 against the US dollar – the weakest since the Asian financial crisis in 1998 – with Bloomberg describing it as the worst performer in Asia this year after the yen.