Ringgit Opens Marginally Higher Against Greenback

By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid and Naveen Prabu

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 (Bernama) -- The ringgit opened marginally higher against the US dollar on Wednesday as traders opted for a wait-and-see mode ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting where an interest rate cut is highly anticipated, said an economist.

At 8 am, the ringgit climbed to 4.1200/1300 versus the greenback compared to Tuesday’s close of 4.1275/1330.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit is expected to extend its narrow range trade today due to a lack of fresh leads.

He said the US Dollar Index (DXY) was down 0.06 per cent to 99.357 points as the odds for an interest rate cut is more than 90 per cent.

“Today, expect ringgit to linger between RM4.12 and RM4.13,” he told Bernama.

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

It appreciated versus the British pound to 5.4466/4599 from 5.4528/4667 at Tuesday’s close, slightly up against the euro to 4.7907/8024 from 4.7916/8038 and improved vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.6451/6517 from 2.6545/6616.

The local note traded mixed against ASEAN currencies.

It gained versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1788/1870 from 3.1836/1919 at Tuesday’s close and strengthened vis-à-vis the Thai baht to 12.8625/9058 from 12.8868/9296.

The ringgit dipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 247.8/248.5 from 247.6/248.4 and was little changed against the Philippine peso at 7.04/7.06 from 7.05/7.07 yesterday.

-- BERNAMA