Positive sentiment pushes ringgit to strengthen vs greenback at the opening

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit continued to open on a better note this morning, lifted by resilient sentiment ahead of the release of Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) data for the second quarter (2Q) of 2024 this week, said an analyst.

At 8 am, the local note climbed 30 percentage in points (pips) to 4.4170/4290 versus the greenback from Friday's close of 4.4200/4280.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid believed that the final print for the 2Q data to be announced on Friday would not be far from the advance estimates of 5.8 per cent growth.

"The United States (US) consumer price index (CPI) for July is due on Wednesday, the producer price index (PPI) on Tuesday, with the disinflationary trend to be maintained," he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, Japan's 2Q 2024 GDP will be out on Thursday with consensus estimates showing a 2.1 per cent year-on-year growth after the economy contracted 1.8 per cent in 1Q 2024.

"Hence, the Bank of Japan monetary policy stance will also be in the spotlight as traders await clues for further unwinding of the yen carry trade," he explained.

As such, he said the USD/MYR would linger near its immediate support level of RM4.40 today.

Meanwhile, the local note traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It firmed vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8198/8329 from 4.8253/8340 and appreciated versus the British pound to 5.6303/6456 from 5.6373/6475 at Friday's close but fell against the Japanese yen to 3.0035/0121 from 3.0019/0075 previously.

Nevertheless, the ringgit traded mixed against ASEAN currencies.

It was up against the Singapore dollar to 3.3348/3442 from 3.3381/3444 on Friday and better against the Indonesian rupiah at 277.3/278.2 versus 277.5/278.2.

However, the local note eased vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.5280/5795 from 12.5234/5514 and was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.71/7.74 from 7.71/7.73.

-- BERNAMA