Ringgit opens lower against US dollar

Ringgit opens lower against US dollar

The local unit was quoted at 4.2810/2840 versus the greenback from 4.2790/2830 on Tuesday.

ringgit-dollar
KUALA LUMPUR:
The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar in early trade this morning as the greenback staged a comeback ahead of the annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, which will begin on Aug 24, 2017.

At 9am, the local unit was quoted at 4.2810/2840 versus the greenback from 4.2790/2830 on Tuesday.

A dealer said the dollar rallied ahead of the US annual symposium as investors expected messages that will give fresh market direction from global central bank leaders, especially Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

“However, investor sentiment towards the ringgit remained positive after Bank Negara Malaysia’s foreign reserves hit a two-year high of US$100.40 billion as at Aug 15, 2017.

“The foreign reserves have always been a barometer of confidence among investors towards the country’s economy, including the currency,” he said.

Against a basket of other major currencies, the ringgit was traded mostly higher.

It rose against the yen to 3.9017/9056 from Tuesday’s close of 3.9138/9193, strengthened against the pound to 5.4835/4891 from 5.4925/4985 yesterday and vis-a-vis the euro, it advanced to 5.0289/0341 from 5.0291/0355 previously.

The local unit, however, weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1406/1440 from 3.1399/1439 on Tuesday.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.