Ringgit opens lower against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened easier against the US dollar today after recording gains in the last four straight sessions.

At 9 am, the local note fell to 4.1540/1570 versus the greenback from Thursday's close of 4.1525/1560.

ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the US dollar has already started to show buying strength.

"In the US, the Initial Jobless Claims data came in well below expectations while the Producer Price Index data came in slightly above expectations. The combination of these two pieces of news may cause a strengthening of the US dollar against the ringgit in the coming days," he added.

The ringgit, however, was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies, rising versus the Japanese yen to 3.6477/6507 from Thursday's close of 3.6638/6672 and appreciated versus the British pound to 5.6810/6851 from 5.6985/7033.

The local note fell slightly against the Singapore dollar to 3.0809/0834 compared with yesterday's 3.0807/0835 but went up against the euro to 4.8166/8200 from 4.8215/8255.

-- BERNAMA