KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — The ringgit rebounded from yesterday’s loss to open slightly higher against the US dollar today amid mixed sentiments as traders remained cautious ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) upcoming two-day monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting starting tomorrow, an analyst said.
At 9.01am, the local currency advanced to 4.4860/4895 against the greenback from Monday’s close of 4.4900/4940.
The analyst said the market expects BNM’s MPC to continue raising the overnight policy rate by another 25 basis points at this week’s meeting.
“And as long as the US Federal Reserve stays the course for outsized rate hikes in the coming months and China’s (economic) worries persist, we think most Asian currencies, including the ringgit, will be on the defensive against the US dollar,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local unit depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.2022/2052 from Monday’s close of 3.1978/2011 and fell against the euro to 4.4712/4747 from 4.4590/4630.
It eased against the Japanese yen to 3.1970/1997 from 3.1966/1997 and weakened against the British pound to 5.1984/2024 from 5.1689/1735. — Bernama
