KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 12): The ringgit has strengthened against the US dollar at the opening on Wednesday (Jan 12), as markets remain cautious about the greenback over the possibility of a hike in the interest rate, a dealer said.
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At 9.01am, the local currency was trading at 4.1760/1790 against the US dollar compared with 4.1890/1920 at Tuesday’s close.
ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the US Federal Reserve’s chairman Jerome Powell was reported as saying that much of the inflation rise in the US is linked to issues affecting the global supply chains which are mostly caused by Covid-19.
“Experts already predict two possible interest rate hikes in the US in 2022 and four possible hikes in 2023.
“Despite this, the market remains cautious, partially because the possible interest rate hike had already been priced in by most investors,” he told Bernama.
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Technically, Diniz said the US dollar could fall to the 4.1650 level against the ringgit, where it may find temporary support.
At the opening, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies, except against the euro where it eased to 4.7485/7519 from 4.7470/7504 at Tuesday’s close.
The local unit appreciated versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0924/0951 from 3.0965/0990 on Tuesday, gained vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.6948/6989 from 5.7008/7049, and rose against the Japanese yen to 3.6231/6260 from 3.6303/6332 previously.-BERNAMA