The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar today as investors were seen signaling caution amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Intraday Label
At 9:56am, the ringgit was trading at 3.9080, down 0.08% against the US dollar since opening early Friday in the Asian session.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid explained that the risk-off sentiment was bringing clarity to the global financial market as traders focused on the nuclear deal between the United States (US) and Iran.
He also noted that President Donald Trump had set a 10-day deadline to conclude negotiations while stressing that there were rumours of an increase in US military forces in the Middle East.
According to Mohd Afzanizam, the US dollar-ringgit pair is expected to trade between RM3.91 and RM3.93 as the market remains wary of further increases.
At the opening, the ringgit was trading higher against a basket of currencies.
It rose against the euro to 4.5880/6103 from 4.6073/6168, rose against the Japanese yen to 2.5126/5250 from 2.5221/5275 and strengthened against the British pound to 5.2469/2725 from 5.2730/2838 previously.
The ringgit also traded stronger against the Singapore dollar to 3.0732/0887 from 3.0817/0882 and gained against the Philippine peso to 6.72/6.76 from 6.73/6.75.
It also rose slightly against the Indonesian rupiah to 230.8/232.0 from 231.1/231.6 and gained against the Thai baht to 12.4944/5657 from 12.5196/5521 previously.
