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.

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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