RInggit opens slightly lower at 4.33 to the dollar

The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened slightly lower Monday against the US dollar, snapping four-day of consecutive gains, amid lack demand.

As of 9.01 am, the local note stood at 4.3300/3450 compared with Friday's close of 4.3280/3350.

AxiCorp global chief market strategist Stephen Innes said traders seem to opt for a light position at the start of the week.

"Very mixed open. On the positive note, the stricter containment measures should see COVID-19 pass and with China returning to work, this will be positive especially with the proactive policy measures from last week, which will provide a huge lift next month, hopefully,” he said.

However, he said, the weaker prospect of oil price may not be good for the country.

"In sum, with the trading a bit weaker today, I expect some downward pressure on the ringgit,” he added.

Overall, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It fell against the Singapore dollar at 3.0312/0427 from 3.0175/0234 at Friday's close and slipped vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8106/8290 from 4.7608/7702 previously. It had weakened against the Japanese Yen to 4.0279/0426 from 3.9754/9829 and depreciated against the British pound to 5.3878/4082 from 5.2841/2943. -- Bernama