KUALA LUMPUR — The ringgit continued to close lower against the greenback on Tuesday as the American dollar extended its rally ahead of speeches by US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials this week and US inflation data tomorrow, an economist said.

At 6 pm, the local note fell to 4.4365/4400 against the greenback compared to Monday’s close of 4.4090/4120.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said investors were likely anxious about possible changes in US policy, which could affect the Fed’s decisions on interest rate cuts in 2025. “On that note, the US dollar is in a sweet spot right now and the ringgit, along with other emerging market currencies, is generally weaker against the greenback today,” he told Bernama.

He said investors will be closely monitoring the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which is due to be released tomorrow night. “Additionally, the next US Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Dec 17 and 18 will shed some light on whether the Fed might be inclined to revise its forecasts for inflation and the Fed funds rate,” he added.

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

It was slightly easier against the British pound at 5.6889/6934 from 5.6872/6910 at Monday’s close, dropped against the euro to 4.7111/7148 from 4.7088/7120 and declined against the Japanese yen to 2.8788/8812 from 2.8701/8722.

The ringgit traded mostly lower against ASEAN currencies, except against the Thai baht, where it rose to 12.7456/7608 from 12.8243/8390 at Monday’s close.

The local unit was marginally lower versus the Singapore dollar at 3.3143/3174 from 3.3120/3148, decreased vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 7.54/7.55 from 7.52/7.53 and slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 281.0/281.5 from 280.9/281.3 previously. — BERNAMA