The ringgit opened unchanged against the US dollar on Monday, with traders cautious amid mixed messages from United States Federal Reserve (Fed) officials over the interest rate outlook.
At 8.01 am, the local unit stood at 4.2200/2250, the same level as Friday’s close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the conflicting Fed views had left investors uncertain on whether the central bank would lean towards prioritising growth or taming inflation, limiting gains for emerging market currencies such as the ringgit.
“The US dollar has also strengthened, with the US Dollar Index (DXY) trading above the 98-point mark. On that note, the ringgit is expected to trade within the RM4.22 to RM4.23 range today,” he told a local news outlet.
Against other major currencies, the ringgit was weaker at the opening. It eased to 2.8265/8301 against the Japanese yen from 2.8171/8206 at Friday’s close, slipped to 5.6599/6666 against the British pound from 5.6345/6412, and fell to 4.9416/9475 versus the euro from 4.9281/9340.
The local note also weakened against several ASEAN currencies, trading lower at 3.2680/2721 against the Singapore dollar from 3.2630/2671, and at 13.0849/1081 against the Thai baht from 13.0587/1069.
It, however, remained unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 252.1/252.5 and the Philippine peso at 7.25/7.27.
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