The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar today following the expectation that the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) will maintain its monetary policy stance tighter. This will support the USD to be stronger.
At 9 am this morning, the ringgit fell to 4.7420 against the US dollar from last Friday's closing at 4.7385.
Head of Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, Dr Afzanizam said this week the market will focus on US inflation data based on the Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index reports that will be published on Tuesday and Wednesday.
For now, the ringgit is expected to move in a narrow range today.
Markets now hope the Fed will shift its focus from inflation to economic growth. The Fed is now too focused on the mission of lowering inflation because it is still high since the beginning of the year.
At the start of trading, the ringgit traded mixed against a group of major currencies.
It added value against the Japanese yen to 3.0407/0438 from 3.0428/0446 at last Friday's close, rose against the euro to 5.1062/1110 from 5.1072/1098 previously and fell against the British pound to 5.93670/9436. /9395 last week.
At the same time, the local currency strengthened against Asean currencies.
The ringgit rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.5001/5037 from 3.5017/5038 at Friday's close, rose against the Thai baht to 12.8918/9086 from 12.9009/9137 last week and was firmer against the Philippine peso at 8.22/8.27 compared to 8.27 8.26 recorded earlier.
However, the local currency was slightly lower against the Indonesian rupiah at 295.4/295.9 from 295.2/295.6 last Friday. – Named
