KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — The ringgit opened mixed against a basket of major currencies today, while the US dollar strengthened amid elevated crude oil prices following the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
At 8 am, the local currency traded at 4.0900/0975 against the greenback, compared with yesterday's close of 4.0885/0930.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) was 0.27 per cent higher at 99.811 points.
He noted that US President Donald Trump was pushing back against Iran's compensation demand, saying Tehran should be held responsible for the damage across the region.
"The news appears to be dollar-positive as it could improve the odds of a rate hike at the upcoming September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
"As such, we expect the ringgit to remain in range-bound trade in light of the conflicting signals, whereby the weak US jobs data last Friday has failed to weaken the American currency," he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the local currency traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.5696/5746 from 2.5736/5766 at yesterday's close and strengthened against the euro to 4.7223/7310 from 4.7247/7299, while easing against the British pound to 5.5260/5361 from 5.5170/5231 previously.
However, the ringgit traded mixed against regional currencies.
It strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1943/2004 from 3.1961/2002, but eased against the Thai baht to 12.3921/4204 from 12.3894/4079 at yesterday's close.
The ringgit was little changed against the Indonesian rupiah at 230.3/230.8 versus 230.2/230.6 previously, while it was almost flat against the Philippine peso at 6.73/6.75 from 6.73/6.74.
