KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 — The ringgit opened higher against the greenback on Friday amid news about the possible United States-Iran truce, which is expected to have a positive impact on the local note, said an analyst. 

At 8am, the local currency rose to 3.9755/9815 against the greenback from Thursday’s close of 3.9770/9805.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid expects the ringgit-US dollar pair to trade in a RM3.95 to RM3.97 range today.

“News on the 60-day US-Iran truce has led to a decline in Brent crude oil prices by 1.04 per cent to US$93.31 per barrel. The news (about the truce) is unconfirmed, but the market has reacted positively. 

“This suggests that the investing community is fatigued with the nature of the unstable negotiations,” he told Bernama. 

At the same time, the US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation rate accelerated to 3.8 per cent in April from 3.5 per cent the month before, indicating that higher oil prices have eroded Americans’ purchasing power. 

Meanwhile, initial jobless claims also climbed to 215,000 last week from 210,000 previously. It has been on the uptrend since April 30. 

As a result, the US Dollar Index (DXY) was down by 0.21 per cent to 98.997 points.

Back home, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies. 

It fell against the British pound to 5.3447/3527 from 5.3272/3319 at Thursday’s close, declined against the euro to 4.6323/6392 from 4.6181/6222, and eased versus the Japanese yen to 2.4961/5000 from yesterday’s 2.4947/4970. 

The local note slid versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1151/1201 from 3.1085/1115 at Thursday’s close, and slipped against the Thai baht to 12.2083/2338 from 12.1613/1773 previously. 

It was little changed against the Indonesian rupiah at 222.7/223.2 versus 222.8/223.1 previously and was flat vis-a-vis the the Philippine peso at 6.45/6.46. — Bernama