The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar
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13/05/2024
The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar
At 9.01am, the ringgit fell to 4.7420/7465 against the US dollar from 4.7385/7410 last Friday. -File photo/Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar today following the expectation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) of the United States (US) will maintain its strict monetary policy stance, thus supporting the dollar, said Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's Chief Economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid.
At 9.01am, the ringgit fell to 4.7420/7465 against the US dollar from 4.7385/7410 last Friday.
Mohd Afzanizam said this week, market players will focus on US inflation data with the Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index reports to be released on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"The Fed is seen to be focused on lowering inflation to the two percent target despite weak economic indicators," he told Bernama.
Currently, he said the market hopes the Fed's focus will change from inflation to growth, but this is seen as quite difficult at the moment based on the still high inflation rate.
At the start of trading, the ringgit traded mixed against a group of major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 3.0407/0438 from 3.0428/0446 last Friday, rose against the euro to 5.1062/1110 from 5.1072/1098 previously, however slipped against the pound to 5.9370/9426 from 5.9364/9395 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 last Friday, rose against the Thai baht to 12.8918/9086 from 12.9009/9137 last week and rose against the Philippine peso to 8.22/8.27 from 8.25/8.26 previously.
However, the local currency was lower against the Indonesian rupiah to 295.4/295.9 from 295.2/295.6 last Friday.
