Ringgit opens lower as buying momentum remains slow post-CNY break

At 9 am (0100 GMT) the ringgit traded at 4.1020/1050 versus the greenback from Tuesday's close of 4.0950/0980. (Filepic of people waiting to buy foreign currencies.)

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on lack of buying momentum.  At 9.05 am, the ringgit was pegged at 4.0980/1020 against the greenback from Monday's close of  4.0900/0970.

The market was closed for two days for Chinese New Year celebrations.  

Maybank Kim Eng Research said the ringgit/US dollar has been on a gradual yet bumpy decline of more than 2.5 per cent since hitting a high of 4.20 on Nov 28, but a slightly more favourable external environment could potentially support the case for further gains ahead.  

“In particular, an external environment of pause in the US Federal Reserve interest rate hike, global growth ‘neither hot nor cold' (global growth momentum slowing but not tanking), global inflation not at risk of overshooting most central bank's medium-term objectives.

“These could suggest a return to ‘goldilocks' play and this could support higher-yielder foreign exchange including the ringgit,” said the investment bank in a research note today.  

In addition, supported oil and palm oil prices could further lend support to the ringgit, it added.  

Meanwhile, the local note traded mostly higher against other major currencies.  

It strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.0210/0251 from Monday's 3.0227/0290 but declined against the Japanese yen to 3.7326/7369 from 3.7216/7290 previously.  

Against the British pound, the local unit advanced against the British pound to 5.2995/3051 from  5.3424/3531 and appreciated against the euro to 4.6570/6619 from  4.6814/6902. - Bernama