KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar today, extending its downtrend from yesterday’s closing due to higher demand for the greenback, said an analyst.
At 9.00am, the ringgit dropped to 4.7150/4.7190 versus the American dollar compared with Wednesday’s close of 4.7030/4.7060.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the US dollar Index (DXY) and yields on US Treasury securities were higher last night, signalling that the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) tight grip on monetary policy is here to stay.
The DXY pierced the 105 points after remaining at around 104 points for a few days, while the 10-year US Treasury note yielded six basis points higher to 4.61%.
“Against such a backdrop, the ringgit would continue to stay weak as demand for the US dollar remains firm,” he added.
Against a basket of major currencies, the ringgit traded higher except against the Japanese yen.
The local unit appreciated against the euro to 5.0903/5.0946 from 5.1032/5.1065 on Wednesday’s closing, and improved versus the British pound to 5.9847/5.9898 from 6.0010/6.0049 yesterday.
It was slightly lower versus the Japanese yen to 2.9957/2.9987 from Wednesday’s close of 2.9923/2.9944.
The ringgit performed mostly lower versus its Asean peers.
It strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.7729/12.7886 from 12.7938/12.8068 at Wednesday’s close. It eased vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 291.7/292.1 from 290.9/291.3 and fell versus the Philippine peso to 8.05/8.06 from 8.04/8.05.
It also weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.4854/3.4886 from 3.4850/3.4875 yesterday.
