KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar in early trade today but was higher against other major currencies as market participants remain cautious about global monetary policy tightening measures.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the spotlight today will be on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision regarding the benchmark interest rate.“Although Australia’s inflation rate has decreased to 6% in the second quarter of 2023 from 7% previously, it remains higher than the target.He said that presently, the support and resistance levels are situated at RM4.4872 and RM4.5491 respectively.
At 9am, the local currency decreased to 4.5060/4.5125 against the greenback compared with 4.5050/4.5090 at yesterday’s close.It increased against the Japanese yen to 3.1619/3.1667 from 3.1658/3.1689 on Monday, firmed versus the euro to 4.9516/4.9588 from 4.9690/4.9734 and improved vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.7807/5.7891 from 5.7916/5.7968 previously.The ringgit rose versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3875/3.3926 from 3.3877/3.
However, the ringgit was lower versus the Philippine peso at 8.21/8.23 from 8.20/8.22 previously and the Indonesian rupiah at 298.7/299.3 from 298.6/299.1 at yesterday’s close.