KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 (Bernama) — The Malaysian ringgit traded broadly higher against the US dollar today at the opening Monday as weaker US economic data released last Friday triggered a significant decrease in US Treasury yields, said an analyst.
At 9.01 am, the local note was 185 basis points firmer at 4.3820/3860 versus the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.4005/4070.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the weaker US dollar is supporting global risk-taking on market expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) would ease the pace of monetary policy sooner rather than later.
“(Also), all eyes are still on China and how its reopening story continues to (filter) through domestic growth channels. As growth gradually returns to China, the ringgit should continue to strengthen,” he told Bernama.
The ringgit was traded easier against a basket of major currencies.
It declined against the British pound to 5.3057/3106 from 5.2159/2336 at Friday’s close and depreciated against the euro to 4.6717/6759 from 4.6254/6322.
The local currency also weakened versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2836/2871 from 3.2664/2717 and dropped vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.3250/3283 from 3.2739/2793 previously.
— BERNAMA
