KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended Friday’s downtrend to open lower against the US dollar this morning as most traders stayed on the sidelines for an announcement on the overnight policy rate (OPR) by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) tomorrow.
At 9am, the ringgit was lower at 4.1465/1495 compared with 4.1410/1440 at Friday’s close.
The dealer said the greenback also weakened after Federal Reserve officials’ voiced concerns about low inflation.
“There were some inflationary pressure from a weaker dollar and the traders’ bets that the Fed is willing to cut interest rates if the US economy softens,” he said.
On another external development, China was reportedly considering cancelling its negotiations with Washington as US President Donald Trump’s threatened to impose new tariffs on trade with the country.
Representatives from the world’s two largest economies are scheduled to meet this week.
The ringgit also traded lower against other major currencies.
It slid slightly against the Singapore dollar to 3.0362/0395 from 3.0355/0379 on Friday and fell against the yen to 3.7572/7610 from 3.7142/7179.
The local currency depreciated versus the British pound to 5.4497/4553 from 5.3792/3843 and slipped against the euro to 4.6370/6420 from 4.6185/6230. - Bernama
