Ringgit opens sharply higher against US dollar

The ringgit opened sharply higher against the US dollar this morning as investors' appetite shifted towards the local note against a backdrop of unfavourable developments in the US economy.

At 9.26am, the local unit was quoted at 3.2200/2220 against the US dollar from 3.2325/2345 on Wednesday.

A dealer said following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the US Federal Reserve cut its forecast for the 2014 US economic growth to between 2.1% and 2.3%, from an earlier forecast of 2.8% to 3.0%.

"This dampened demand for the greenback," he added.

Meanwhile, the ringgit also opened higher against other major currencies in anticipation of a lower inflation rate of 3.3% in May compared with 3.4% in April. Official data will be released Friday.

The ringgit appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.5760/5793 from 2.5778/5812 yesterday and rose against the yen to 3.1575/1607 from 3.1614/1639.

Against the British pound, the ringgit strengthened to 5.4717/4768 from 5.4771/4809 and increased versus the Euro to 4.3747/3781 from 4.3813/3844 yesterday.