Ringgit ends the week higher, US dollar slides on weaker GDP results

Ringgit ends the week higher, US dollar slides on weaker GDP results

The 0.9% decline in US GDP signals the beginning of a technical recession.

The ringgit continued to gain ground against the US dollar amid global recession fears.
KUALA LUMPUR:
The ringgit joined its regional peers, strengthening against the greenback as it slid on news of weaker US economic data, said an analyst.

At 6pm, the local currency rose to 4.4495/4.4520 versus the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.4515/4.4550.

OANDA Asia Pacific senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said the US dollar selloff continued overnight after the US gross domestic product (GDP) data reported a 0.9% decline in the second quarter of 2022, signalling that its economy had entered a technical recession.

“Asian currencies finally started strengthening versus the US dollar overnight after the weak US data pushed US yields lower as recession fears heightened,” he said.

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

The local currency fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.2243/3.2266 from Thursday’s close of 3.2192/3.2222 and depreciated versus the Japanese yen to 3.3347/3.3368 from 3.2865/3.2893.

It also fell against the euro to 4.5385/4.5410 from 4.5196/4.5232 yesterday and declined versus the British pound to 5.4048/5.4078 from 5.4001/5.4044 previously.

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