KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended yesterday’s weaker performance to trade slightly lower against the US dollar in the early session today, as more investors shifted towards the safe haven currencies on United States’ (US) commitment to lowering inflation by any means necessary, an analyst said.
At 9.15 am, the local note stood at 4.3230/3265 against the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.3140/3185.
In a note to Bernama, ActivTrades’ trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz noted the US Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell’s recent statement that the fight against inflation is likely to last longer than initially thought, which could lead to higher US interest rates throughout 2023.
“In an environment of rising interest rates, investors tend to seek the safety of yielding assets such as US bonds,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local note inched up against the Singapore dollar to 3.2617/2648 from Thursday’s close of 3.2627/2664 and strengthened vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.2847/2879 from 3.2967/3006 yesterday.
It had also appreciated against the British pound to 5.2369/2411 from 5.2381/2435 previously and rose versus the euro to 4.6416/6454 from 4.6432/6480 on Thursday. – Bernama