KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar in early trade today given the prevailing sentiment in the market, which suggests a weaker outlook for global growth.
At 9.01 am, the local note decreased to 4.5640/5695 against the greenback compared with 4.5575/5625 at Monday’s close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) for June is anticipated to show a decline of 1 per cent based on consensus estimates.
“Meanwhile, United States (US) Federal Reserve officials’ statement implies that the Fed Fund Rate will likely remain high in the short term, but there is a chance of a rate cut next year if inflation continues to ease.
“Consequently, the US Dollar Index (DXY) inched up by 0.03 per cent to reach 102.047 yesterday,” he told Bernama.
He expected the ringgit to hover around 4.56 against the US dollar today.
The ringgit was also traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It dropped vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.8287/8357 from 5.7971/8035 on Monday’s close and fell against the euro to 5.0158/0219 from 4.9978/0032.
Meanwhile, it rose against the Japanese yen to 3.1918/1961 from 3.2018/2056 previously.
The local unit was traded mixed against other Asean currencies.
The ringgit appreciated against the Thai baht at 13.0792/1006 from 13.0801/0997 previously and rose against the Philippine peso to 8.12/8.14 from 8.13/8.14.
It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.3996/4042 from 3.3968/4008 and went down against the Indonesian rupiah to 300.5/301.0 from 300.0/300.6 previously
US dollar remains flat
The US dollar stayed nearly flat on Monday, as investors were waiting for the US inflation data this week, reported Xinhua.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.03 per cent to 102.0423 in late trading.
The US consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 per cent during the second quarter, the Federal Reserve said on Monday.
Revolving credit grew at an annual rate of 7.1 per cent, while non-revolving credit expanded at an annual rate of 3 per cent. In June, consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 4.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Investor Movement Index (IMX) edged to 5.53 in July, up slightly from 5.46 in June, TD Ameritrade reported on Monday.
The IMX is TD Ameritrade’s proprietary, behavior-based index, aggregating Main Street investor positions and activity in the markets.
German industrial production dropped 1.5 per cent in June compared with the previous month, the German federal statistics office said on Monday, underlining the challenges faced by manufacturing amid a downturn in Europe’s largest economy.
In late New York trading, the euro fell to US$1.1007 from US$1.1009 in the previous session, and the British pound rose to US$1.2784 from US$1.2754.
The US dollar bought 142.4180 Japanese yen, higher than 141.86 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar rose to 0.8730 Swiss francs from 0.8727 Swiss francs, and it fell to 1.3364 Canadian dollars from 1.3379 Canadian dollars. The US dollar was down to 10.5779 Swedish Krona from 10.5834 Swedish Krona.
Short-terms rates remain stable
Short-term rates are expected to remain stable today on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) operations to absorb surplus liquidity from the financial system.
Liquidity is estimated at RM37.93 billion in the conventional system and RM22.64 billion in Islamic funds.
The central bank will conduct a RM1 billion conventional money market tender for seven days from today and two Qard tenders, comprising a RM400 million tender for seven days and a RM500 million tender for 14 days.
It will also call for two reverse repo tenders, namely a RM1.5 billion tender for 31 days and a RM500 million tender for 92 days.
BNM also announced the availability of reverse repo, sale and buy-back agreements as well as collateralised commodity murabahah facilities for tenors of one to three months.
At 4 pm, BNM will conduct up to RM38.9 billion conventional overnight tender and RM21.7 billion murabahah overnight tender.
Foreign exchange rates
Following are the opening Malaysian foreign exchange for major currencies today:
1 USD 4.5640/5695
100 yen 3.1918/1961
1 pound 5.8287/8357
1 euro 5.0158/0219
1 SGD 3.3996/4042
100 baht 13.0792/1006
1 mln rupiah 300.5/301.0
100 pesos 8.12/8.14
Exchange rates issued by Malayan Banking Bhd today
| SELLING TT/OD | BUYING TT | BUYING OD | |
| 1 US Dollar | 4.6320 | 4.4990 | 4.4785 |
| 1 Australian Dollar | 3.0560 | 2.9330 | 2.9140 |
| 1 Brunei Dollar | 3.4470 | 3.3450 | 3.3340 |
| 1 Canadian Dollar | 3.4560 | 3.3630 | 3.3410 |
| 1 Euro | 5.0940 | 4.9290 | 4.9000 |
| 1 New Zealand Dollar | 2.8350 | 2.7290 | 2.7070 |
| 1 Papua N Guinea Kina | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1 Singapore Dollar | 3.4470 | 3.3450 | 3.3340 |
| 1 Sterling Pound | 5.9250 | 5.7410 | 5.6870 |
| 1 Swiss Franc | 5.2880 | 5.1670 | 5.1340 |
| 100 UAE Dirham | 127.4700 | 120.8200 | 120.2700 |
| 100 Bangladesh Taka | 4.3030 | 4.0350 | 3.8310 |
| 100 Chinese Renminbi | 64.7700 | 62.0100 | N/A |
| 100 Danish Krone | 70.0800 | 64.4700 | 64.1700 |
| 100 Hongkong Dollar | 59.9000 | 56.9000 | 56.5100 |
| 100 Indian Rupee | 5.6800 | 5.3300 | 5.1200 |
| 100 Indonesian Rupiah | 0.0316 | 0.0286 | 0.0235 |
| 100 Japanese Yen | 3.2450 | 3.1410 | 3.1460 |
| 100 New Taiwan Dollar | 15.7000 | N/A | N/A |
| 100 Norwegian Krone | 46.7900 | 43.0100 | 42.7700 |
| 100 Pakistan Rupee | 1.6600 | 1.5500 | 1.3300 |
| 100 Philippine Peso | 8.3700 | 7.8900 | 7.7200 |
| 100 Qatar Riyal | 127.9400 | 121.4600 | 121.3000 |
| 100 Saudi Riyal | 124.7000 | 118.3800 | 117.8100 |
| 100 South Africa Rand | 25.6300 | 23.1400 | 23.1900 |
| 100 Sri Lanka Rupee | 1.4800 | 1.3600 | 1.1600 |
| 100 Swedish Krona | 45.0300 | 40.9900 | 40.7600 |
| 100 Thai Baht | 13.8800 | 12.3000 | 11.9300 |
Gold down
The physical price of gold as at 9.30 am stood at RM274.01 per gramme, up 48 sen from RM273.53 at 5 pm yesterday. – BERNAMA
