KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — The ringgit opened stronger on Monday on the back of the weaker US dollar and optimism over the Budget 2021 announcement on Friday.
At 9.06am, the local currency stood at 4.1200/1290 versus the greenback, compared with Friday’s closing of 4.1275/1325.
Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said after being held back last week, the ringgit is now playing catch up with the yuan and North Asian currencies, which have been soaring.
“Budget 2021 should be well received as it is anticipated to offer some tax relief and provide additional support to economic sectors where it is needed the most,” he told Bernama.
Innes said with Joe Biden being declared the United States President, it is believed that he would be able to reduce the level of trade fractions, especially in Asia.
“Pricing out global geopolitical risk under a Biden presidency could be the most undervalued plus of them all, as global supply chains could then redistribute goods in a more globalised fashion.
“Things could even return to the pre-pandemic level in the next 12 — 24 months if a vaccine proves to be the ultimate recession stopper and a game-changing panacea for global growth, and this will be positive for Asia assets,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mixed against other currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0596/0667 from 3.0624/0668 at Friday’s close and improved vis-a-vis the yen to 3.9857/9948 from 3.9918/9978.
However, the ringgit was lower against the euro at 4.8966/9086 from 4.8923/8995 and declined versus the British pound to 5.4293/4428 from 5.4231/4313 previously. — Bernama
