KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 — The ringgit opened lower due to cautious transactions by traders ahead of the United States (US) Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for Jan 30-31.
At 9:10 am, the ringgit depreciated to 4.7320/7360 against the greenback compared to Friday’s closing rate of 4.7275/7325.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said market movements on Monday may remain relatively subdued as investors await the conclusion of the FOMC meeting.
“This meeting will provide valuable insights into the Federal Reserve’s assessment of the balance between rapid economic growth and moderating inflation, a critical factor in determining the direction of monetary policy.
“The US dollar might continue its upward trend albeit with a slight slowdown in momentum.”
Furthermore, Innes said that with the Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) report looming this Friday, foreign exchange investors are unlikely to expose much of their capital to risk, given the uncertainty surrounding this event.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.
It inched up vis-a-vis the British pound to 6.0111/0161 from 6.0120/0183 and ticked up against the Japanese yen to 3.1938/1968 from 3.1988/2024 at Friday’s close.
It slid versus the euro to 5.1328/1371 from 5.1279/1333 previously.
The local note was traded mostly lower against Asean currencies.
It eased slightly against the Singapore dollar at 3.5274/5306 from 3.5267/5307, was lower versus the Thai baht to 13.2884/3056 from 13.2679/2879 and declined against the Indonesian rupiah to 299.0/299.3 from 298.7/299.1 at last week’s close.
It was almost flat against the Philippine peso at 8.39/8.40 from 8.39/8.41 previously.
— Bernama
