Ringgit opens lower against US dollar as oil prices fall

KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on lack of demand due to falling crude oil prices, said an analyst.

At 9.02am, the local currency traded 4.1835/1875 versus the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.1805/1810. 

Bursa Malaysia opened higher in the early trading session, lifted by some heavyweights in the healthcare sector amid the increase in Covid-19 daily cases in the country, an analyst said.

Malaysia recorded 10,089 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, bringing the total cumulative to 2,914,220 cases.

At 9.10 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI improved 5.96 points to 1,528.72 from 1,522.76 at Friday’s close, after opening 2.47 points higher at 1,525.23.

Market breadth was positive with gainers leading losers 255 to 121, while 237 counters were unchanged, 1,603 untraded and 22 others suspended. – Bernama, February 7, 2022