Kuala Lumpur: The ringgit opened almost flat against the US dollar today but rose versus other major currencies, as the greenback continued to strengthen amid rising geopolitical risks, an analyst said.
At 8am, the local note stood at 4.1735/4.1985 against the greenback compared to yesterday’s close of 4.1730/4.1790.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) continued to remain at elevated levels, rising by 0.48% to 101.677 points on increased demand for the safe haven currency.
“Our sense is that markets are closely observing for a possible retaliation by Israel (following Iran’s missile attack) and how the conflict in the Middle East would evolve going forward.
The ringgit could remain soft against the US dollar today in light of the prevailing concern about the Middle East region, he added.
The ringgit strengthened versus the Japanese yen to 2.8482/2.8657 from 2.8931/2.8975 at Wednesday’s close, appreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6100/4.6377 from 4.6208/4.6274 yesterday, and gained against the British pound to 5.5357/5.5689 from 5.5472/5.5551.
Meanwhile, the local currency performed mixed against Asean currencies.
It was higher vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar at 3.2298/3.2496 compared to 3.2386/3.2436 at yesterday’s close and improved against the Thai baht to 12.6854/12.7711 from 12.7350/12.7587 previously.
However, the ringgit slipped versus the Indonesian rupiah to 273.3/275.1 from 273.2/273.8 on Wednesday and was little changed against the Philippine peso at 7.43/7.48 compared to 7.43/7.44 previously.
