KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar, rebounding after being impacted by a risk-off sentiment due to the geopolitical tension in the Middle East.
At 9am, the ringgit inched up to 4.7840/7890 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.7900/7975.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the domestic currency was seeing mild demand after being in an extremely oversold position from a technical standpoint.
“The ringgit is now hovering at 25-year lows after slipping to 4.7900/7975 yesterday, thus opening more trading opportunities,” he told Bernama.
Besides, higher oil prices also influenced the ringgit’s positive performance versus the greenback today.
In early trade, the ringgit however eased versus a basket of major currencies.
It slipped against the euro to 5.1055/1108 from 5.0736/0815 at the close on Monday, decreased versus the British pound to 5.8628/8689 from 5.8179/8270 yesterday, and fell against the Japanese yen to 3.1959/1995 from 3.1935/1985 previously.
Meanwhile, the local note was traded mixed against other Asian currencies.
The ringgit increased against the Indonesian rupiah to 300.2/300.6 from 300.5/301.2 at Monday’s close and inched up versus the Philippine peso to 8.42/8.45 from 8.43/8.44 previously.
In contrast, it declined against the Thai baht to 13.2005/2183 from 13.1104/1359 yesterday and weakened vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.5007/5046 from 3.4731/4767. – October 24, 2023