According to expert research, the ringgit opened lower against the strong US dollar due to the United States (US) equities continuing to show favorable performance.
At exactly 10.40 this morning, the ringgit was at 4.7590 against the US dollar from yesterday's close of 4.7629.
According to Bank Muamalat Bhd's Chief Economist, Dr Afzanizam said the S&P 500 Index has approached 5,000 points and the 10-year US Treasury has seen a lower yield of 4.093%.
He also said that investor demand is more positive despite the expectation that the Fed's stance in determining interest rates may be lowered in the near future.
However, he believes that the ringgit will remain hovering around RM4.76 against the dollar throughout the day.
Today's market focus is more on China's CPI data which has recorded a negative report for the fourth month in a row. The hope is that the Chinese government needs to increase economic stimulus to restore the current situation.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against a group of major currencies, except for the Japanese yen where it rose to 3.2137/2163 from 3.2159/2212 at Wednesday's close.
It eased against the British pound to 6.0152/0196 from 6.0095/0190 yesterday and eased against the euro to 5.1326/1364 from 5.1233/1314 previously.
The local currency is also trading lower than other Asean currencies.
The ringgit eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.5460/5489 from 3.5415/5474 on Wednesday and was lower against the Thai baht at 13.3676/3819 from 13.3650/3917 yesterday.
It was also lower against the Indonesian rupiah at 304.5/305.0 compared to 304.2/304.8 at Wednesday's close and eased against the Philippine peso to 8.51/8.53 from 8.50/8.52 previously.
