KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened slightly weaker against the US dollar on Tuesday, pressured by profit-taking, as the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose 0.73 per cent to 98.430.

At 8 am, the local currency stood at 4.2080/2175 compared with Monday’s close of 4.2045/2105.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said traders remained cautious over how the US Federal Reserve would respond to Friday’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, which is expected to hold at 2.6 per cent in July, based on consensus estimates.

“On that note, the USD/MYR could see similar moves as traders may look to lock in profits. The ringgit is likely to trade between 4.20 and 4.23 against the dollar today, as markets stay wary ahead of the PCE report on Friday,” he told Bernama.

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

It firmed against the euro to 4.8859/8969 from 4.9163/9233 at Monday’s close, rose against the Japanese yen to 2.8467/8533 from 2.8534/8577, and strengthened versus the British pound to 5.6593/6721 from 5.6740/6821.

The local note was mixed against ASEAN currencies.

It was little changed against the Singapore dollar at 3.2714/2790 from 3.2761/2810 and almost flat against the Philippine peso at 7.41/7.44 from 7.41/7.43.

However, it appreciated against the Thai baht to 12.9437/9805 from 12.9561/9801 but slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 258.7/259.5 from 258.5/259.1. – Bernama