KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar on Monday amidst renewed buying interest.
At 9.05 am, the ringgit appreciated 4.7075/7130 versus the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.7100/7130.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said sentiment is likely to stay guarded ahead of Friday’s US inflation data.
He noted that the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) tight grip on monetary policy would likely support the US dollar as the monetary easing cycle could be delayed.
"A slew of Fed speakers lining for the up week would also seem to convey a similar message on the need to keep the benchmark interest rate high to suppress inflation towards their stated goal of 2.0 per cent,” he told Bernama.
The local unit depreciated versus the Japanese yen at 3.0030/0067 from Friday’s 2.9996/3.0017, it eased against the euro to 5.1076/1136 from 5.1000/1032 and slid vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.9969/6.0039 from 5.9859/9898 previously.
Against ASEAN currencies, the local note traded mostly lower as it fell against the Thai baht to 12.8424/8626 from 12.8373/8507 and was lower against the Philippine peso at 8.10/8.11 from 8.09/8.10.
The ringgit declined against the Singapore dollar to 3.4883/4927 from 3.4876/4901 at Friday’s close and was flat versus the Indonesian rupiah to 294.3/294.7 from 294.5/294.7 previously. - Bernama
