Ringgit opens lower against major currencies, US dollar

The ringgit opened lower against major currencies including the US dollar on Wednesday as weaker US consumer data weighed on investor sentiment and reduced risk appetite in the foreign exchange market.

At 8.02am, the ringgit edged down to 4.0795/4.0850 against the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.0790/4.0850.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the Conference Board’s Confidence Index fell 81.9 points in September, the lowest level since April 2014.

“Based on the survey responses, most Americans related the high cost of goods and services and oil and gas prices, in particular, to such pessimism,” he noted.

He added that, apart from consumer confidence, the Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS) was also lower in August at 7.079 million, which was below the consensus estimate of 7.23 million.

Afzanizam said the trend has been declining since April this year. Yet the US Dollar Index (DXY) was up 0.17% to 101.372 points, as US Federal Reserve officials remain hawkish on monetary policy.

At the opening, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It fell against the euro to 4.6257/4.6320 from 4.6235/4.6303 at Tuesday’s close, was lower vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.3960/5.4032 from 5.3937/5.4016, and inched down versus the Japanese yen to 2.5921/2.5958 from 2.5869/2.5909.

Against Asean currencies, the local note was weaker versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1921/3.1969 from 3.1885/3.1934 at yesterday’s close and eased against the Thai baht to 12.1540/12.1759 from 12.1402/12.1632 previously.

The local note traded little changed against the Indonesian rupiah at 226.9/227.2 from 226.8/227.2 and was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.52/6.53.