Ringgit opens steady against US dollar amid lack of catalysts

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit saw little change against the US dollar at the opening as investors remained on the sidelines due to a lack of fresh catalysts.

At 9.06am, the ringgit stood at 4.7200/4.7250 against the greenback, compared to Monday’s close of 4.7210/4.7250.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the US Dollar Index remains above 105 points ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which commences tonight.

“Post-United States (US) Nonfarm Payroll (NFP) results showed that the US dollar remained at the forefront as the Federal Reserve is seen maintaining its restrictive bias and not in a hurry to cut rates, contrasting with its counterparts in Europe.

“On that note, the ringgit versus the greenback is likely to remain in a narrow range as market participants await the FOMC outcome on 12 June,” he noted.

At the opening, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

The local unit strengthened against the Japanese yen to 3.0025/3.0059 from Monday’s close of 3.0089/3.0117, fell against the British pound to 6.0071/6.0135 from 5.9943/5.9993, and slipped against the euro to 5.0801/5.0855 from 5.0722/5.0765.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against its Asean peers.

The local note weakened against the Philippine peso to 8.04/8.05 from 8.03/8.04 at yesterday’s close, and inched down against the Singapore dollar to 3.4878/3.4917 compared with 3.4875/3.4907.

It also slipped to 298.8/290.3 against the Indonesian rupiah from 289.9/290.3 and declined against the Thai baht to 12.8299/12.8481 from Monday’s close of 12.8211/12.8372. - FMT