KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 8): The ringgit opened lower versus the US dollar on Monday (Aug 8), as the greenback continued to strengthen its appeal as a safe-haven currency, amid risk-off sentiment in the market, analysts said.
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At 9am, the local currency had slipped to 4.4580/4610 against the US dollar, compared with 4.4490/4520 at last Friday’s close.
An analyst said the 10-year US Treasury yield fell to 2.38%, as demand for safe-haven instruments strengthened, exacerbated by fears that the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes were tipping the economy into a recession.
He said appetite for cash-like instruments is now rising despite low returns, and that would mean that the main focus at the moment is to protect the principle of investment.
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Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local currency rose against the euro to 4.5320/5351 from 4.5513/5544 last Friday, and appreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.2944/2971 from 3.3459/3484 last week.
It also strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.2251/2275 from last Friday’s close at 3.2330/2355, and advanced versus the British pound to 5.3746/3782 from 5.3989/4025 previously.-BERNAMA