“Additionally, the hotly contested move to take over Gaza has given rise to a potential escalation in the Middle East conflict,” said an analyst.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the prevailing market conditions would continue to favour the US dollar as the Federal Reserve (Fed) seems to be not inclined to ease its monetary policy in the near term.

At 6pm, the ringgit eased marginally to 4.4375/4.4420 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.4320/4.4385.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against other major currencies.

It fell against the Japanese yen to 2.9217/2.9249 from 2.9036/2.9080 yesterday, slipped against the euro to 4.6101/4.6148 from 4.5920/4.5987, and depreciated against the British pound to 5.5278/5.5334 from 5.5090/5.5171 previously.

The local note was also weaker against Asean currencies.

It was lower against the Singapore dollar at 3.2866/3.2901 from 3.2742/3.2793 at the close yesterday and decreased against the Thai baht to 13.1853/13.2041 from 13.1175/13.1433 previously.

The ringgit also declined against the Indonesian rupiah to 272.4/272.9 from 271.2/271.7 and fell against the Philippine peso to 7.65/7.66 from yesterday’s close of 7.62/7.63.