KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Monday, but strengthened against other major currencies amid cautious trading as market players closely watched West Asia geopolitical tensions unfolding.
At 8 am, the local note slipped to 4.1350/1445 against the greenback from last Friday’s close of 4.1340/1395.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit is expected to trade cautiously as traders and investors monitor the US-Iran negotiations.
"Thus far, there has been newsflow that millions of barrels of oil continued to flow through the Straits of Hormuz during the weekend. This suggests the risk of a tight supply of crude oil and liquefied natural gas could be easing despite the ongoing tension.
"At the same time, traders will be focusing on the US Federal Reserve’s primary inflation gauge, which is the personal consumption expenditures, to be released on Thursday,” he said.
Mohd Afzanizam said the ringgit would trade sideways against the greenback amid weak market sentiment.
WTI and Brent crude are trading at US$77.69 per barrel and US$81.60 per barrel, higher by 2.43 per cent and 1.28 per cent, respectively, from the previous close.
At the opening, the local currency strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5613/5674 from 2.5636/5671 at Friday's close, rose against the British pound to 5.4619/4745 from 5.4709/4782 previously. It slipped versus the euro to 4.7404/7513 from 4.7376/7439.
The local note was mixed against regional currencies.
It improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.1992/2071 from 3.2019/2064 and rose against the Thai baht to 12.5503/5850 from 12.5856/6074 at last Friday's close.
The ringgit was almost flat versus the Indonesian rupiah at 232.2/232.8 from 232.2/232.5 previously and was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.80/6.82 from 6.80/6.81. - Bernama
