KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar today, staging a modest rebound, although gains remained limited, an analyst said.
At 8 am, the local currency rose to 4.0265/0400 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.0280/0350.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the US Dollar Index (DXY) remains above the 100 level amid renewed flight-to-safety flows as geopolitical risks escalate.
“At the same time, the softer trend in the Bloomberg Asia Dollar Index suggests regional currency conditions remain relatively stable, indicating that pressure on the ringgit is largely driven by global dollar strength rather than underlying domestic or regional fragility,” he told Bernama.
In a separate development, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said mixed signals from the United States have dimmed hopes for a de-escalation in the West Asia conflict.
He said the war has led to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz as well as damage to oil and gas infrastructure in Gulf countries.
“This will take years to repair. It appears that high oil prices are here to stay in the immediate term,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit opened stronger against a basket of other major currencies.
It strengthened against the British pound to 5.3033/3211 from 5.3311/3403 at yesterday’s close, gained against the Japanese yen to 2.5191/5278 from 2.5237/5282, and rose versus the euro to 4.6128/6282 from 4.6294/6374 previously.
The local currency also traded mostly higher against ASEAN currencies.
It inched up against the Singapore dollar to 3.1160/1267 from yesterday’s close of 3.1227/1284, strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.2483/2976 from 12.2558/2831, and improved versus the Indonesian rupiah to 236.8/237.7 from 236.9/237.4.
It was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.63/6.65.
