KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 - The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Monday but strengthened against most major currencies amid cautious trading as market players closely monitored geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
At 8 am, the local currency slipped to 4.1350/1445 against the greenback from last Friday’s close of 4.1340/1395.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit is expected to trade cautiously as traders and investors monitor developments surrounding US-Iran negotiations.
“Thus far, there has been news flow indicating that millions of barrels of oil continued to pass through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. This suggests the risk of a tight supply of crude oil and liquefied natural gas could be easing despite ongoing tensions.
“At the same time, traders will focus on the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which is scheduled for release on Thursday,” he said.
Mohd Afzanizam said the ringgit is likely to trade sideways against the greenback amid weak market sentiment.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude were trading at US$77.69 and US$81.60 per barrel, respectively, up 2.43 per cent and 1.28 per cent from their previous closes.
At the opening, the local currency strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5613/5674 from 2.5636/5671 at Friday’s close and appreciated against the British pound to 5.4619/4745 from 5.4709/4782 previously.
However, it weakened slightly against the euro to 4.7404/7513 from 4.7376/7439.
The ringgit was mixed against regional currencies.
It improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.1992/2071 from 3.2019/2064 and strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.5503/5850 from 12.5856/6074 at last Friday’s close.
The local note was almost unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 232.2/232.8 compared with 232.2/232.5 previously, and was little changed against the Philippine peso at 6.80/6.82 from 6.80/6.81.
