KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar, an indication of cautious sentiment ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled for tomorrow, a dealer said.
At 9.05am, the local currency was traded at 4.1560/1600 versus the US dollar compared with last Friday's close of 4.1530/1570.
Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said for the most part, it is a wait-and-see approach on two fronts – BNM and the US presidential election – which will determine how much fiscal stimulus is possible and whether there will be a new trade war with China.
“Both axes are pivotal to US dollar against Asia’s 2021 outlook.
“The former can support global trade improvement, while the latter could compress (or reignite) the geopolitical risk premia in Asian currencies,” he told Bernama.
Innes expects a 25 basis point cut by BNM.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher against other major currencies.
It improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.0383/0431 from last Friday’s close of 3.0427/0468 and rose against the British pound to 5.3704/3777 from 5.3806/3866.
The ringgit strengthened against the euro to 4.8376/8439 from 4.8470/8529 and increased versus the yen to 3.9689/9748 from 3.9757/9814. – Bernama, November 2, 2020
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