KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar today on better buying support ahead of Malaysia’s third quarter of 2021 (Q3 2021) gross domestic product result which will be released today.
At 9.01am, the local note rose to 4.1660/1695 versus the greenback from 4.1690/1720 at yesterday’s close.
An analyst said he believed that Malaysia’s economic recovery is still on track as the country is set to reopen its borders to international visitors by January 1, 2022 at the latest.
On the external front, the ringgit could remain under pressure due to the risk of rising inflation in the United States.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the increase in the US’ inflation rate to 6.2% in October could result in the US Federal Reserve changing its tack to anchor inflation expectations, as indicators from labour markets showed that US citizens are likely to increase their spending.
“Such dynamics would boost the US dollar value and this has been reflected by the sharp increase in the US dollar index,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
It increased to 3.6467/65014 against the Japanese yen from 3.6545/6574 at yesterday’s close and rose vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.5649/5696 from 5.5835/5876 previously.
The local note also appreciated against the Singapore dollar at 3.0748/0778 from 3.0754/0781 yesterday and improved against the euro at 4.7659/7699 from 4.7798/7832 yesterday.
Meanwhile, at 9.30am today, there were 324 gainers, 220 losers and 329 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia.
The FBM-KLCI was at 1,527.07 up 8.22 points, the FBMACE was at 6,992.26 up 33.98 points, and the FBMEmas was at 11,301.19 up 60.00 points.
Turnover was at 506.150 million shares valued at RM338.996 million. – Bernama, November 12, 2021
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