Kuala lumpur: The ringgit ended the week lower, retreating from its recent rally as the US dollar strengthened following the United States (US) Federal Reserve's (Fed) move to cut its interest rate, an economist said. At 6 pm, the local note stood at 4.2040/2115 against the US dollar, down from Thursday's close of 4.1945/1995.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the ringgit has breached the 4.20 psychological threshold, suggesting that the recent rally may be short-lived as the Fed maintains a cautious stance on monetary easing. Dr Mohd Afzanizam remarked, "The 4.20 level per dollar appears to be a key psychological point, which the ringgit may intermittently surpass when expectations of a US rate cut intensify."

At the close, the ringgit showed gains against major currencies. It strengthened versus the Japanese yen at 2.8419/8471 from 2.8484/8520 at Thursday's close, improved to 5.6775/6876 against the British pound from 5.7238/7306 yesterday, and gained vis- -vis the euro, reaching 4.9447/9536 from 4.9654/9714 previously.

Meanwhile, the local note showed mixed performance against ASEAN currencies. It appreciated versus the Singapore dollar at 3.2744/2805 from 3.2800/2842 yesterday and rose to 253.2/253.8 against the Indonesian rupiah from 253.7/254.2 previously. However, it depreciated against the Thai baht at 13.1973/2271 from 13.1903/2114 yesterday, and declined vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 7.36/7.38 compared with Thursday's close of 7.35/7.36.