KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit was marginally higher against the US dollar at the opening today, trading in a quiet tone amidst weakening demand for the greenback, said an analyst.
At 9am, the local note was traded at 4.0680/0730 against the US dollar from Tuesday’s close of 4.0700/0740.
Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the ringgit is being traded cautiously in very tight ranges while trying to recover from Fitch Ratings’ recent debt rating downgrade.
“It is also surprising that the foreign exchange (FX) market is not reacting at all to US stimulus talks, and I think traders are putting a ‘hold’ on ringgit.
“The Asia FX momentum, in general, has stalled on a couple of fronts, including on the US foreign policy towards China, and the concern is impacting year-end sentiment,” he told Bernama.
However, he expressed hope that oil prices will continue to appreciate as it would help to lift and push the ringgit higher.
“If the oil markets trade flat, as they may very well do for the rest of the week, the ringgit may close the week on a quiet note,” Innes added.
Meanwhile, the local note was traded mostly better against other major currencies.
It had slightly improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.0413/0461 from 3.0478/0519 at Tuesday’s close, and moved higher against the Japanese yen at 3.9055/9115 from 3.9131/9173.
The local currency ticked up versus the euro to 4.9263/9336 from Tuesday’s 4.9353/9418, but depreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.4397/4480 from 5.4335/4396 yesterday.