KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 12): The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar today as the greenback retreated after the release of the United States (US) consumer price index (CPI) report confirmed moderating inflation.
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At 9.19am, the local note stood at 4.2370/2400 versus the greenback compared with 4.2380/2420 at Wednesday’s close.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the ringgit is expected to continue facing pressure against the US dollar, especially after the US lawmakers agreed to a US$1 trillion dollar infrastructure bill to boost the US economy.
“Perhaps some support could be gained from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) report which showed that crude oil stockpiles fell last week, indicating sustained demand which bodes well for oil prices and subsequently the ringgit in the short run.
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“But fuel demand may start to decline later due to the Covid-19 Delta variant, putting downward pressure on oil prices,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the local note was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
The ringgit fell against the Japanese yen to 3.8393/8423 from 3.8253/8292 at Wednesday’s close and depreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.9734/9769 from 4.9623/9670 previously.
It slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.1228/1252 from 3.1159/1191 and was lower against the British pound at 5.8759/8800 from 5.8539/8595 yesterday.-BERNAMA