KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): The ringgit opened slightly better against the US dollar today on renewed demand, despite the declining global oil prices and concerns over the dollar inflation, a trader said.
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At 9am, the local note stood at 4.1970/1990 versus the greenback from 4.2000/2030 at Wednesday’s close.
According to ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz, concerns over the greenback inflation have increased with the release of the United States Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures inflation from the perspective of costs to industry or producers of products.
“From a macroeconomic point of view, the market seems to expect new monetary policies to curb this inflation situation,” he told Bernama, adding that he believes the US dollar would strengthen with a possible sharp cut to the fiscal stimulus.
Meanwhile, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the ringgit would likely remain pressured by the high Covid-19 infections in the country, coupled with the volatile oil market.
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“As such, the ringgit is expected to trade within the range of RM4.19-RM4.20 today,” he said.
At the opening bell, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local note fell to 4.9663/9687 against the euro from 4.9539/9574 at Wednesday’s close, depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.8186/8207 from 3.8012/8043, and slipped to 3.0997/1016 versus the Singapore dollar from 3.0973/0998 yesterday.
However, it appreciated against the British pound to 5.8086/8114 from 5.8157/8199 previously.-BERNAMA