KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — The ringgit extended its uptrend to open higher against the US dollar today mainly due to the broadly weaker US dollar as well as by the stabilising oil prices that are trading towards the upper end of the current range, said an analyst.
As at 9am, the local unit ended at 4.2500/2560 against the US dollar, compared with 4.2505/2545 yesterday.
AxiCorp chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the escalation in the US-China tensions is also a reminder of the headline risk faced by investors during the upcoming US presidential election.
“The markets better get used to it because there is more of that to come and even without Donald Trump in the White House. A Biden presidency is unlikely to change travel direction in a tempering of China-US relations,” Innes said in a note.
Besides that, as the US dollar-Chinese renminbi is trading back above the 7.01 level, Innes added currency markets may hold off selling the US dollar and traders could be more inclined to book profit on further dips.
On the oil market, benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.14 per cent better at US$44.35 per barrel, as at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, Ambank Research in its Economic & FX Highlights note today expected the ringgit to trade between its support levels of 4.2349 and 4.2406 with resistance at 4.2589 and 4.2637.
The ringgit on the other hand, was traded mixed against other major currencies.
It improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.0670/0716 from 3.0692/0725 yesterday and increased versus the Japanese yen to 3.9660/9724 from 3.9721/9769.
The local note weakened against the euro to 4.9160/9233 from yesterday's 4.9064/9127 and declined vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.4090/4175 from 5.3871/3930 previously. — Bernama
