Ringgit opens higher against dollar ahead of US CPI report

 

KUALA LUMPUR: 

The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar this morning amid cautious sentiment ahead of the upcoming United States (US) consumer price index (CPI) report, said an analyst.

At 8am, the local note rose to 4.3330/4.3460 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.3400/4.3445.

The US CPI report is scheduled to be released later today.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said traders and investors are still weighing in on the size of the potential interest rate cut in next week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

With crude oil prices on a lower trajectory along with softening in labour market data, the CPI report tonight should not derail the possible shift in the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy stance,

 he noted.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was mixed against a basket of major currencies.

It improved versus the euro to 4.7758/4.7902 from 4.7909/4.7959 at Tuesday’s close and appreciated against the British pound to 5.6680/5.6850 from 5.6850/5.6909 previously but fell vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.0478/3.0571 from 3.0309/3.0343.

The ringgit also traded mostly higher against Asean currencies.

The local note inched up against the Indonesian rupiah to 280.3/281.3 from 280.7/281.2, slightly higher vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.3226/3.3328 from 3.3257/3.3294 and gained against the Philippine peso to 7.68/7.71 from 7.69/7.71 previously.

However, it fell versus the Thai baht to 12.8748/12.9218 from 12.8581/12.8764 yesterday. - FMT