Ringgit opens lower against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended its downtrend against the US dollar on Friday morning, as stronger greenback sentiment curbed risk appetite for the local currency, a dealer said.

At 9am, the ringgit stood at 4.0520/0580 against the US dollar from Thursday’s close of 4.0380/0410.

Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the dollar soared last night following a surge in the United States’ 10-year bond yields on growing optimism over a sustainable recovery.

He said declining oil prices, as profit-taking emerged ahead of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ March meeting, has also influenced a pull back in the ringgit.

“Therefore, I expect the ringgit to trade on a defensive bias against the US dollar,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against other major currencies.

It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0512/0569 from 3.0663/0697 on Thursday, strengthened versus the British pound to 5.6696/6784 from 5.7231/7289, and increased against the euro to 4.9272/9357 from 4.9340/9385.

The local currency, however, depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.8144/8204 from 3.8076/8108 previously. – BERNAMA

Source: NST