KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — The ringgit steadily opened at 3.96 against the US dollar this morning, amid talks of possible currency intervention by the United States and Japanese authorities intensified. 

At 8am opening, the ringgit traded at 3.9650/9750, compared with yesterday’s close of 3.9615/9670, last seen at this level in May 2018.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit could appreciate further today in light of the weaker US dollar.

“The Japanese yen gained on firmer ground against the US dollar as talks of possible intervention by the authorities intensified.

“At the same time, spot gold prices continued charge higher by 1.04 per cent to US$5,060.64 per ounce. All this has translated into a weaker US dollar with the US dollar index (DXY) falling 0.57 per cent to 97.040 points,” he told Bernama.

He said that as the ringgit continued its uptrend yesterday, the local note could appreciate further today amid the weak US dollar.

The ringgit weakened against the British pound to 5.4217/4354 versus 5.4166/4241 at yesterday’s close, eased vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7076/7195 from 4.6999/7064, and slightly up versus the Japanese yen to 2.5683/5750 from 2.5783/5820.

It strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1201/1282 from 3.1242/1288, advanced versus the Thai baht to 12.6953/7343 from 12.7441/7679, slipped vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 236.2/236.9 from 236.0/236.4 and was almost flat against the Philippine peso at 6.72/67.4 from 6.72/6.73 previously. — Bernama