KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): The ringgit opened firmer against the US dollar this morning ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Thursday, during which the central bank is expected to maintain the current overnight policy rate (OPR) of 1.75% to support the economy.
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At 9.03am, the local note had risen to 4.1545/1580 versus the greenback from 4.1600/1650 at last Friday’s close.
According to Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim, the anticipated MPC decision would likely send signals that the economy does not require further monetary easing, especially with the US expected to hike rates earlier than expected.
“Taking these into account, the ringgit may trade in the range of RM4.15 to RM4.16 today,” he told Bernama.
Nevertheless, he said sentiment towards the local note may continue to be dampened by the implementation of the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) in several parts of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
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Last week, the National Security Council decided on the enforcement of the EMCO from July 3 to 16 in 34 subdistricts in Selangor and some housing areas in Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, at the opening, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It dropped against the British pound to 5.7432/7480 from 5.7188/7256 at last Friday’s close and depreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.9278/9301 from 4.9171/9230.
The ringgit also weakened against the Japanese yen to 3.7391/7409 from 3.7303/7351 last Friday and slipped versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0847/0864 from 3.0778/0818.-BERNAMA