KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — The ringgit eased versus the US dollar at Wednesday's opening as traders await Bank Negara Malaysia’s interest rate decision and the release of the United States (US) jobs data report tomorrow.
At 9am today, the local note slipped to 4.1565/1595 against the greenback from 4.1545/1560 at Tuesday's close.
ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the local currency is currently trading at the 4.1540 level.
“From a technical point of view, if USD-MYR breaks below 4.1430, it could drop to 4.1200 where it will find some support. On the other hand, if it breaks above 4.1600, it could rise to 4.2100 in the next few days,” the trader said.
According to a Reuters poll on Tuesday, BNM is likely to keep its lending rate unchanged this week as the country gradually resumes its economic activities following the rising Covid-19 vaccination rate.
Some analysts believed that the reduction in the 2021 gross domestic product forecast might have spurred market speculation of another rate cut to further support economic recovery.
At the opening bell, the local note was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0894/0919 from 3.0902/0918 at the close on Tuesday and appreciated versus the yen to 3.7687/7718 from 3.7785/7799 previously.
It had also improved vis-a-vis the euro to 4.9238/9273 from 4.9314/9332 yesterday and strengthened to 5.7297/7339 from 5.7403/7423 against the British pound.
— Bernama
