KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower against the US Dollar on Tuesday due to a lack of buying interest.
Cautious sentiment continues to surround the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) monetary policy decisions.
At 9:15 am, the ringgit depreciated to 4.7225/7265 against the US Dollar from 4.7165/7195 on Monday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said market participants will focus on the BoJ’s monetary policy decisions today.
He said there are expectations that the Japanese central bank will end its negative interest rate policy and yield curve control.
Furthermore, he said market participants will monitor the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting of the United States starting today and ending tomorrow.
Therefore, the ringgit is expected to remain low due to cautious trading sentiment, he told Bernama.
“However, positive data from China yesterday provided hope that the world’s second-largest economy will gain traction following various economic and monetary stimuli,” he said.
The ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It declined against the Japanese Yen to 3.1631/1660 from 3.1608/1630 on Monday and decreased against the Pound to 6.0070/0121 from 6.0060/0098 yesterday.
However, it increased against the Euro to 5.1338/1382 from 5.1400/1433 previously.
The local currency remained almost unchanged against the Singapore Dollar at 3.5258/5291 from 3.5253/5278 on Monday and rose against the Philippine Peso to 8.48/8.49 from 8.49/8.50 earlier.
