KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened marginally lower against the US dollar today due to the lack of buying interest, in spite of the greenback’s weaker performance, said an analyst.
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At 9 am, the local note traded at 4.0420/0450 against the US dollar from yesterday’s closing of 4.0410/0460.
The analyst said the greenback had weakened on the back of rising risk appetite, which was boosted by the stable crude oil prices, the retreat in the benchmark 10-year United States (US) Treasury yields and positive news on the COVID-19 vaccines.
“The prevailing mood looks constructive for the ringgit but the market is expected to adopt a wait-and-see approach ahead of the US Federal Reserve (US Fed) chairman Jerome Powell’s decision on the US interest rates later tonight,” she told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the local note is expected to remain steady in line with the positive lift in energy prices this week.
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“On Powell’s decision, the expectation is for him to echo the dovish US Fed mantra to keep interest low for a long time,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit had traded higher against other major currencies.
The local unit appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.0471/0512 from 3.0498/0543 on Wednesday and strengthened against the yen to 3.8895/8935 from 3.8912/8964 yesterday.
Vis-a-vis the euro, it went up to 4.9163/9216 from 4.9252/9325 yesterday and rose against the pound to 5.5173/5230 from 5.5313/5398 previously. -BERNAMA