KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 5): The ringgit on Friday (Aug 5) depreciated to its weakest point against the Singapore dollar at 3.2410, before paring its loss to 3.2369 at 5pm on the same day.

The ringgit traded at between 3.2342 and 3.2410 throughout Friday's session. Notably, 3.2410 is a fresh low for the ringgit against the Singapore dollar.

Compared with Thursday's closing rate of 3.2328, the ringgit has depreciated 0.13% against the Singapore dollar.

Year-to-date (YTD), the ringgit has fallen 3.92% against the Singapore dollar, with the exchange rate at 3.0857 on Dec 31, 2021.

It should be noted that the Singapore dollar has weakened against the greenback, down by 2% since the end of last year. US$1 is now worth S$1.3761, compared with S$1.3490 on Dec 31, 2021.

Likewise, the ringgit also weakened by 6.9% against the US dollar YTD to 4.454 on Friday, compared with the 4.1665 level seen on Dec 31, 2021.

The ringgit appreciated 0.08% against the greenback from the closing rate of 4.4577 on Thursday.

FX strategists at UOB Group, Quek Ser Leang and Lee Sue Ann, forecast the ringgit to further weaken to 4.49 against the US dollar in the third quarter this year and 4.52 in the fourth quarter.

Quek and Lee project the ringgit to trade against the US dollar at 4.53 in the first quarter and 4.54 in the second quarter of next year, according to UOB's foreign exchange insights report released on Friday.