KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 — The ringgit weakened against the US dollar at the opening this morning as markets weighed the political and Covid-19 situation in Malaysia, as well as recent updates in the United States, a dealer said.
At 9am, the local currency eased to 4.0130/0190 versus the greenback from Wednesday’s close of 4.0080/0130.
Commenting on the US dollar’s performance, Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the market is considering the best-laid plans for a Blue Wave (Democrats) sweep, where the consensus is for the dollar to weaken, especially against higher commodity beta currencies like the ringgit.
“But I suspect some darker clouds of uncertainty over the domestic political landscape and the omnipresent local Covid-19 concerns could dampen enthusiasm,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mixed against other major currencies.
It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.0455/0512 from 3.0440/0480 on Wednesday and slipped versus the euro to 4.9492/9578 from 4.9443/9516.
Conversely, the local note appreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.8942/9012 from 3.8954/9022 yesterday and strengthened against the British pound to 5.4673/4759 from 5.4685/4757 previously. — Bernama
