Ringgit Opens Slightly Lower Vs Greenback Amid Fragile West Asia Ceasefire

By Engku Shariful Azni Engku Ab Latif

KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (Bernama) -- The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar on Monday amid uncertainties over the free flow of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz and the resilience of the United States economy, an analyst said.

At 8 am, the local currency slid to 4.0710/0770 against the greenback from 4.0695/0745 at Friday’s close.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the fragility of the ceasefire agreement following the ongoing attacks between the US and Iran has kept crude oil prices and US Treasury yields elevated.

“The US Dollar Index (DXY) is currently hovering at 100.952 points.

“As such, expect ringgit to trade sideways against the US dollar, oscillating around RM4.06 to RM4.08,” he told Bernama.

Mohd Afzanizam said this week’s focus will be on key US economic data releases, including the consumer price index (CPI), producer price index (PPI), and the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index.

He said investors will also be monitoring a series of speeches by US Federal Reserve officials for clues on the US interest rate outlook.

“All this will dictate the currency market trend this week,” he said.

At the opening, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies and its ASEAN peers.

It was higher against the Japanese yen at 2.5144/5182  from 2.5148/5181 at Friday’s close, appreciated against the British pound to 5.4490/4571 from 5.4572/4639, and rose against the euro to 4.6422/6490 from 4.6502/6559.

Against ASEAN currencies, the ringgit rose vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.1492/1541 from 3.1520/1561 at Friday’s close and inched up against the Thai baht to 12.2032/2278 from 12.2101/2302.

However, the local note was almost flat against the Philippine peso at 6.61/6.63 from 6.61/6.62 and depreciated vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 225.3/225.7 from 225.2/225.6 previously.

-- BERNAMA