KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar on Monday amid a lack of catalysts, extending last week’s downtrend.

       At 6 pm, the ringgit eased to 4.6670/6745 versus the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.6455/6500.

       Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama that against the US dollar, the local currency went down from its immediate resistant level of RM4.6611 and was currently hovering at RM4.6685 per dollar.

       "It seems that the ringgit is experiencing a technical correction, given that it has appreciated quite steeply in the early part of January.

       "The US Dollar Index (DXY) was also gaining some strength, rising by 0.07 per cent to 102.478 points today,” he said.

       He further said that foreign market investors are now focusing on China’s fourth-quarter 2023 gross domestic product numbers, which will be released on Wednesday, along with the United Kingdom and European Union’s consumer price index (CPI).

       Meanwhile, at the close, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

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       It weakened versus the euro to 5.1076/1158 from 5.0924/0973 at Friday’s close, depreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.9388/9483 from 5.9239/9297 and fell against the Japanese yen to 3.2029/2085 from 3.2007/2040 previously.

       The ringgit also traded lower against Asean currencies.

       It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.4982/5041 from 3.4900/4936 at last week’s close and slipped against the Thai baht to 13.3518/3802 from 13.2464/2664.

       The local note also declined vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 8.36/8.38 from 8.30/8.32 and eased versus the Indonesian rupiah to 299.9/300.6 from 298.6/299.1. - Bernama