KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar this morning weighed down by the decline in oil prices, a dealer said.
At 9am, the ringgit slid to 4.1860/1900 against the greenback compared with 4.1850/1880 at Monday’s close.
OANDA senior Market Analyst Jeffrey Halley said with ample supply in US crude inventories and trade frictions between the United States and China still at the fore, oil’s recovery is fragile, and traders should exercise caution.
Benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.28% lower at US$68.58 per barrel as at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, Halley said regional currencies would probably be mostly unchanged following the quiet overnight sessions in the US and UK as markets were closed for holidays.
The ringgit, however, traded firmer against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar at 3.0435/0473 from Monday’s 3.0447/0474 and appreciated versus the Japanese yen to 3.8200/8247 from 3.8226/8268.
The local note strengthened against the British pound to 5.3074/3138 from 5.3116/3167 and was higher against the euro to 4.6841/6907 from 4.6839/6889. - Bernama
