KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 — The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar in early session today as the greenback stayed firm on dovish Federal Reserve’s statement and the heightening concerns on protracted US-Sino trade disputes.
At 9.00am, the ringgit stood at 4.1500/1530 from yesterday’s 4.1440/1470.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said concerns about a new round of US-China trade war followed recent tweet from US President Donald Trump that he would levy an additional 10 per cent tariff on US$300 billion (RM1.24 trillion) worth of Chinese imports on Sept 1.
“This suggests that the ringgit would stay weak against the greenback. Risk-off mode should be prevalent as the imposition of the additional tariff rates on China would raise the business cost and potentially affect the global growth momentum,” he told Bernama.
Overall, the ringgit was also traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It was weaker against the Singapore dollar at 3.0184/0210 from 3.0134/0167 on Thursday and depreciated vis-a-vis the euro at 4.6015/6065 from 4.5741/5779.
The local currency fell against the yen 3.8734/8773 from 3.7984/8021 and slipped versus the British pound to 5.0327/0380 from 5.0126/0179 previously. — Bernama
