Ringgit opens weaker against US$, further downside limited

At 9.10 am (0110 gmt), the ringgit stood at 4.0800/0850 against the greenback from 4.0820/0860 at the close on Tuesday.

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit slipped further against the US dollar at the opening on Thursday as the greenback remained firm amid persistent uncertainties surrounding the US-Sino trade conflict.

At 9am today, the ringgit was quoted at 4.1900/1930 against the greenback compared to 4.1845/1875 from Tuesday's close.   

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit is expected to remain weak although further downside risks could be limited as the currency is already at an oversold position.

"The 90 days reprieve granted to Huawei may ease concern on the impact to the technology sector in the immediate terms.

"However, the trade conflict remains fluid and we have yet to see another rounds of retaliation from China. All eyes will be looking at Chinese Yuan and how it will fare at the current juncture," he told Bernama.

The US Department of Commerce has granted a temporary general export license for 90 days to Huawei Technology Co Ltd.

While the company is still prohibited from doing business with most US companies, it is allowed to continue using critical product support.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies except for the British pound.

The local note was lower against the Singapore dollar at 3.0358/0384 compared with 3.0355/0386 from last Tuesday's close and fell against the euro to 4.6723/6765 from 4.6653/6699.

It depreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.8032/8070 from 3.7972/8006 but rose vis-a-vis the British pound to  5.3004/3058 from 5.3118/3165 on Tuesday.

The market was closed on Wednesday for Nuzul Al-Quran holiday. - Bernama