KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Monday as risk off impulses hit demand for the local currency.

At 9.01am, the local currency declined further to 4.1960/2000 versus the greenback from 4.1940/1975 at Friday’s close.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the market will closely monitor none other than the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on March 15 and 16.

‘‘It seems that most economists are in agreement that the FOMC will deliver a 25-basis-point hike in the Fed Fund Rate that would bring it to 0.50 per cent.

‘‘The latest print for inflation during February 2022 continues to remain high at 7.9 per cent, indicating that the Fed would need to pursue a monetary tightening to align the economy with its current state,’’ he told Bernama.

Given that prevalent concerns, the ringgit should stay around RM4.19 to RM4.20 today, he said.

The ringgit strengthened against a basket of major currencies except for the Japanese yen, where it depreciated to 3.0767/0801 from 3.5858/5891 at Friday’s close.

The local unit was higher against the British pound at 5.4737/4789 from 5.4828/4874, rose to 4.5858/5902 vis-a-vis the euro from 4.5991/6030, and strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.0767/0801 versus 3.0802/0832 on Friday. — Bernama