KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar today as a cautious US economic outlook moved more investors to shift to haven currencies, an economist said.
At 9.17 am, the ringgit traded easier at 4.7200/7250 against the greenback versus Thursday’s close of 4.7160/7190.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell 0.14 per cent to 105.906.
Similarly, the 2- and 10-year US Treasury yields dropped 4.0 basis points to 4.71 and 4.29 per cent, respectively, as the preferred inflation gauge is expected to come down in May.
"Consensus estimates pegged the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index to come in at 2.6 per cent in May from 2.8 per cent in the prior month,” he told Bernama today.
He said the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president Raphael Bostic indicates that the US Federal Reserve might be inclined to cut the benchmark interest rate once inflation continues to trend down.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was mostly higher against a basket of major currencies in the early session.
It appreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.9311/9344 from 2.9383/9404 and picked up against the British pound to 5.9604/9667 from 5.9643/9681.
It slipped against the euro to 5.0471/0524 from 5.0452/0484.
The ringgit was mostly lower against its ASEAN peers.
The local note rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.4721/4761 from 3.4761/4788, but receded against the Indonesian rupiah to 287.7/288.0 from 287.4/287.7.
It was lowered against the Philippine peso to 8.04/8.05 from 8.03/8.04.
The ringgit fell vis-à-vis the Thai baht to 12.7927/8115 from 12.7874/8015. - Bernama
