Ringgit opens flat against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened flat against the US dollar today as the greenback continued to strengthen with the emergence of risk-averse sentiments which saw United States (US) stocks being sold off overnight, an analyst said.

At 9 am, the local note stood at 4.3930/3995 against the US dollar from 4.3930/3990 at Tuesday's close.

ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the strengthening of the US dollar against the ringgit was also due to the inflation data from the Philippines that came in higher than expected at 6.5 per cent against the 6.0 per cent forecast, casting doubt on the macroeconomic scenario of Southeast Asia as a whole.

"Another important element that caused the US dollar to appreciate is that investors are beginning to wonder when the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will change its monetary policy on interest rates.

"The next Fed meeting is on Dec 14, and the market is already starting to move as investors attempt to anticipate the next step by the US central bank," he told Bernama.

He noted that the daily chart's candlestick also showed the ignition of buying force through an engulfing pattern, as the US dollar is trading above yesterday's high against the ringgit.

"We expect the US dollar to move up to 4.5100 against the ringgit in the coming days, where it should find some resistance," he added.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies this morning.

The local note appreciated against the British pound to 5.3283/3362 from 5.3498/3571 at Tuesday's close and strengthened vis-a-vis the euro to 4.5942/6010 from 4.6096/6159 yesterday.

It had also advanced versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2311/2364 from 3.2363/2412 on Tuesday and rose against the Japanese yen to 3.2031/2083 from 3.2120/2166 previously.

-- BERNAMA