Ringgit slips against greenback

KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar although the losses were capped by strong commodity prices.

At 9am, the local note stood at 4.1570/1620 versus the greenback 4.1565/1595 at yesterday’s close.

ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the US dollar was supported by the US jobless claims data.

“The data came in slightly lower than expected (290,000 real against 300,000 forecast), which is generally positive for the US dollar. However, as the number came very close to what was expected, it did not cause great volatility in the market,” he said. 

However, Diniz said US Federal Reserve president Jay Powell's speech today may cause some volatility as he could give important clues on the next steps the US central bank will take in terms of monetary policy. 

Back home, local investors will keep an eye on the consumer price index (CPI) data to be released later today, which would provide clues on the rate of inflation in the country.

Analysts expect the country’s CPI to increase by 2.2% compared with 2.0% in August.

The ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies at opening today.

Against the Singapore dollar, it rose to 3.0873/0912 from 3.0908/0933 and improved to 3.6433/6477 from 3.6441/6471 versus the yen.

Compared with the British pound, the local note appreciated to 5.7325/7394 from 5.7360/7401 and increased against the euro to 4.8325/8383 from 4.8386/8421 previously. – Bernama, October 22, 2021