KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 ― The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar this morning as the local Covid-19 cases had surged to its highest daily level since the start of the pandemic.

At 9am, the local currency retreated to 4.0370/0430 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.0350/0410.

Commenting on the US dollar’s performance, Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the increasing number of cases reported has raised the alarm on the possibility of a reinstatement of the movement control order.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher against other major currencies.

It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0450/0506 from 3.0508/0563 yesterday and improved versus the euro to 4.9482/9567 from 4.9501/9583 previously.

The local note was better vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.8866/8935 from 3.8955/9021 yesterday, and strengthened against the British pound to 5.4730/4831 from 5.4848/4941 earlier. ― Bernama