At 6pm, the local currency eased by 35 basis points to 4.7180/4.7220 from yesterday’s close of 4.7145/4.7165.

Despite the better-than-expected Malaysian trade data, the ringgit could not counter the impact of the increase in the US Treasury 10-year yields, which rose to about 4% today.

SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said this has had a negative impact on the risk sentiment, which had earlier improved to slow down the demand for the safe-haven US dollar this week.

Malaysia’s trade continued its upward trajectory in September 2022, rising by 31.4% to RM256.91 billion compared to the same month last year – the 20th consecutive month of double-digit growth, according to the international trade and industry ministry.

Innes noted that the Chinese yuan also continued its retreat, and given the solid ringgit and yuan correlation, it was not surprising to see the ringgit close lower.

The weaker yuan has been driven by recessionary concerns in China, which could have a negative impact on Malaysian companies which export to China, he added.

“The weaker ringgit and strong trade data chime with exporters’ retention of the US dollar as the recent surge in the greenback hints at US dollar scarcity. Therefore, exporters are reluctant to convert the US dollar for the local unit,” Innes said.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.

It fell versus the British pound to 5.3233/5.3278 from 5.3118/5.3141 yesterday and marginally eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.3176/3.3207 from 3.3168/3.3184.

The local currency improved slightly against the euro to 4.6326/4.6365 from 4.6372/4.6391 previously and gained vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.1611/3.1642 from 3.1630/3.1646 at yesterday’s closing.