KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended almost unchanged but stayed up against the US dollar today amid cautious sentiment after last week's winning streak, an economist said.

       At 6 pm, the ringgit climbed to 4.6805/6830 against the greenback from last Friday’s 4.6815/6855.

       Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the local note appreciated in the afternoon session to as high as 4.6775 per US dollar before its gains were pared towards the end of the day.

       He said all eyes will be on the US consumer price index (CPI) data due tomorrow as investors seek further evidence that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is on track to cut interest rates in June.

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       "The US headline and core CPI are anticipated to rise to 3.1 per cent and 3.7 per cent in February, respectively. Should the outturn be less than what the market expects, it might lead to further appreciation of the ringgit," he told Bernama.

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

       The local currency eased against the British pound to 6.0107/0139 from 6.0050/0101 on Friday and slipped vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.1923/1942 from 3.1821/1850. It was almost unchanged versus the euro at 5.1181/1209 from 5.1188/1231 previously.

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       The local note also traded mostly lower against other Asean currencies.

       It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.5197/5218 from Friday’s close of 3.5160/5192 and dipped versus the Thai baht to 13.2229/2363 versus 13.2134/2321 previously.

       It was lower against the Philippine peso at 8.45/8.46 from 8.42/8.44 last week but appreciated vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 300.1/300.5 from 300.2/300.6. - Bernama