KUALA LUMPUR (July 9): The ringgit opened firmer against the US dollar on Friday, buoyed by the rise in oil prices.
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At 9am, the local note was traded at 4.1810/1840 against the greenback from 4.1815/1830 at Thursday’s close.
At the time of writing, oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.47% to US$74.42 per barrel.
However, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said external pressures on the local note included the latest wave of infections in Asia, which would likely dampen the demand for oil today.
“As such, lower oil prices will likely be followed by a weaker ringgit due to the strong relationship between the Brent crude oil price and the local note,” he told Bernama.
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Malaysia reported 8,868 new cases on Thursday, July 8, the country’s second-highest daily figure of all time, just behind the 9,020 cases announced on May 29.
Nevertheless, Adam expected the ringgit to trade between RM4.17 and RM4.18 to the greenback today.
At the opening bell, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local note depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.8051/8081 from 3.8045/8062 at Thursday’s close, fell against the euro to 4.9503/9539 from 4.9480/9497 and slipped versus the British pound to 5.7639/7681 from 5.7592/7612.
However, it appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.0893/0919 from 3.0928/0942 yesterday. – BERNAMA