KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 ― The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar today on the expectation of a better second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) to be announced by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) this Friday, a dealer said.

At 9am, the ringgit stood at 4.1850/1900 against the greenback from 4.1960/1990 recorded yesterday.

AmBank Group in a research note forecasted the 2Q19 growth to hover around 4.7–5.0 per cent year-on-year versus 4.5 per cent in the first quarter this year.

"This was underpinned by better 2Q19 key economic indicators, namely industrial production and purchasing managers index,” it said.

The local note rose against the British pound to  5.0450/0515 from 5.0633/0703 on Monday’s close.

Vis-a-vis the yen, the ringgit strengthened to 3.9340/9398 from 3.9905/9945 and increased against the Euro to  4.6776/6848 from 4.7016/0654. ― Bernama