Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the ringgit depreciated against the greenback after lingering around RM4.69 for the past two days, with the US dollar Index (DXY) having gained by 0.14% to 104.76 points.

“The market appears to be zooming into the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index data to be released on Friday to get fresh cues about the US interest rate outlook.

“In the meantime, US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials have continued to suggest that interest rates will remain high and it has supported the greenback,” he told Bernama.

Afzanizam said later tonight, the Fed Beige Report will be published, which will provide an overview of the current US economy based on interviews with key businesses, economists, market experts, and other sources from 12 Federal Reserve districts.

“The report would shed more light on the state of the US economy for traders to chart for market direction,” he added.

Meanwhile, US consumer confidence unexpectedly improved in May after deteriorating for three straight months.

At 6pm, the ringgit fell to 4.7030/4.7060 versus the greenback compared to yesterday’s close of 4.6890/4.6910.

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

The local unit depreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.9923/2.9944 from yesterday’s close of 2.9876/2.9890, slipped vis-a-vis the euro to 5.1032/5.1065 from 5.1002/5.1024 and eased versus the British pound to 6.0010/6.0049 from 5.9897/5.9923 yesterday.

The ringgit performed mostly higher than its Asean peers.

It strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.7938/12.8068 from 12.7975/12.8089 at yesterday’s close, firmed vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 290.9/291.3 from 291.3/291.6 and rose versus the Philippine peso to 8.04/8.05 from 8.09/8.10.

However, it slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.4850/3.4875 from 3.4785/3.4802 yesterday.