KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar on Friday, supported by a slightly firmer US Dollar Index (DXY) and mixed signals from the US Federal Reserve (US Fed).
At 8 am, the local note eased to 4.2440/2640 against the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.2410/2505.
The US DXY edged up by 0.10 per cent to 97.652 points overnight, reflecting mild gains in the greenback.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the Fed’s policy direction remained uncertain, as officials delivered mixed signals.
“St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem advocated waiting before cutting rates, while San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly favour two rate cuts this year,” he told Bernama.
He added that initial jobless claims came in lower than expected at 227,000 last week, signalling continued strength in the US labour market.
“Meanwhile, the four- and eight-week US Treasury bills saw strong demand from investors, resulting in lower yields,” he said.
On the domestic front, Mohd Afzanizam noted that the ringgit appreciated by 0.15 per cent to RM4.2458 yesterday, indicating a positive market response to Bank Negara Malaysia’s recent 25-basis-point cut in the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR).
“On that note, the ringgit is likely to maintain a steady course today, hovering around RM4.23 to RM4.24,” he added.
At the open, the ringgit was mostly higher against a basket of major currencies, except the Japanese yen.
It strengthened against the British pound to 5.7629/7901 from 5.7716/7845, and rose versus the euro to 4.9663/9897 from 4.9751/9863.
However, it slipped slightly against the Japanese yen to 2.9015/9154 from 2.9014/9081.
The local note trended mixed against ASEAN currencies.
It gained against the Thai baht to 13.0144/0834 from 13.0196/0548 at yesterday’s close, and was almost flat versus the Philippine peso at 7.51/7.55 from 7.51/7.53.
However, it traded marginally lower vis-à-vis the Singapore dollar at 3.3174/3333 from 3.3159/3236, and slipped slightly against the Indonesian rupiah to 261.5/262.9 from 261.3/262.1 previously.
