Ringgit opens higher against US dollar

At 9 am, the local unit traded higher against the US dollar at 4.3780/3830 from 4.3870/3930 on Thursday

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar today after US President-elect Donald Trump made some vague pronouncements over the country’s fiscal policy, a dealer said.

At 9 am, the ringgit was quoted at 4.4620/4660 versus the greenback compared with 4.4700/4730 on Wednesday.

The dealer said the long-awaited news conference somewhat disappointed market participants in providing no specific insights as to future fiscal policy.

“This benefitted the ringgit together with other Asian currencies, including the Singapore dollar, as investors shifted their appetite,” the dealer said.

Against the other major currencies, the ringgit traded lower.

It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.1233/1268 from 3.1085/1110 on Wednesday and declined against the yen to 3.8743/8794 from 3.8471/8514.

The local unit depreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7203/7259 from 4.7091/7128 and compared to the British pound, weakened to 5.4347/4414 from  5.4181/4231. - Bernama