KUALA LUMPUR (June 30): The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar today as demand for goods and services in the US boosted the greenback, a dealer said.
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At 9.03am, the local note had declined to 4.1540/1590 versus the US dollar from 4.1510/1530 at yesterday’s close.
ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the US dollar had strengthened after recently released US Consumer Confidence data reported higher-than-expected numbers.
“As this is a leading indicator that measures the level of confidence based on families’ spending and demand for goods and services, the market reacted quickly, thus pushing the greenback higher,” he said.
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The survey also suggested a strong momentum in the economy at the end of the second quarter (2Q21) as it reported consumers’ healthy appetite for long-lasting manufactured goods.
At the opening, the ringgit was also traded marginally lower against a basket of major currencies.
Against the British pound, it fell to 5.7541/7610 from 5.7516/7544 at yesterday’s close and eased vis-a-vis the euro to 4.9437/9496 from 4.9434/9458 previously.
The local unit also weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.0887/0927 from 3.0883/0900 yesterday and declined against the Japanese yen to 3.7583/7628 from 3.7538/7560 previously.-BERNAMA