The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar on Wednesday as markets looked ahead to Malaysia’s second-quarter (2Q) gross domestic product (GDP) data due on Aug 14, Bernama reported.
At 8am, the local currency was quoted at 4.0895/0950 against the greenback, compared with Tuesday’s close of 4.0905/0940.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid expects the Malaysian economy to expand by 5.8% in the 2Q, supported by strong domestic performance.
“The Malaysian economy remained fairly resilient, which could provide further support for the ringgit.
“As such, the ringgit is expected to remain at around RM4.08-RM4.09 against the US dollar,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Afzanizam said the US Dollar Index (DXY) was largely flat as investors awaited the US consumer price index (CPI) data due later on Wednesday.
The DXY was hovering between 99.72 and 99.89 points, with consensus expecting US CPI to come in at 3.4%, slightly lower than the 3.5% recorded in June.
Against major currencies, the ringgit was mostly lower at the opening.
It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5673/5709 from 2.5680/5703 previously, but weakened against the euro to 4.7205/7269 from 4.7188/7228 and eased against the British pound to 5.5241/5315 from 5.5238/5285.
Against regional currencies, the ringgit traded mixed.
It rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 228.9/229.3 from 229.0/229.3 but slipped against the Thai baht to 12.3356/3585 from 12.3323/3481.
The local currency also weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1952/1997 from 3.1930/1962, while it was little changed against the Philippine peso at 6.67/6.69 compared with 6.68/6.69 previously.
