KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — The ringgit retracted from yesterday’s gains to open lower against the US dollar this morning, as investors continue to seek shelter in the safe-haven currency, a dealer said.
At 9.20am, the local currency fell to 4.3970/4005 against the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.3945/3980.
Bank Islam chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit would continue to linger at the current level, while fears over a further tightening by the United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) and the subsequent impact on the economy are expected to remain in the near future.
“Meanwhile, the global benchmark equities were higher as investors are seeing values starting to emerge as the riskier assets were beaten down due to the aggressive monetary tightening by the Fed,” he told Bernama.
Nonetheless, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local note appreciated against the British pound to 5.3894/3937 from Tuesday’s close of 5.4035/4078, and rose versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1706/1734 from 3.1738/1768 yesterday.
The ringgit also went up against the euro to 4.6217/6254 from 4.6441/6478 and strengthened vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.2281/2309 from 3.2448/2477 previously.
— Bernama
