Malaysian Ringgit Lower Against US Dollar At Opening

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian ringgit was easier against the US dollar at Friday's opening, mainly due to a lack of demand for the local currency ahead of the weekend, a dealer said. At 9 am, the ringgit was quoted at 4.4600/4650 against the greenback from the 4.4560/4600 recorded on Thursday. The dealer said although the ringgit was slightly lower, traders expect it to strike a positive momentum, at least for the short term. "Overall, the US dollar is still weak, thanks to US President-elect Donald Trump's lack of clarity on fiscal policy," the dealer said. He said the other emerging currencies were also on a bullish momentum, which would influence the Malaysian currency market. Against the other major currencies, the ringgit traded higher. It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1217/1259 from 3.1264/1303 on Thursday and improved against the yen to 3.8762/8809 from 3.9067/9113. The local unit appreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7312/7383 from 4.7407/7468 and compared with the British pound, strengthened to 5.4189/4259 from 5.4657/4711. -- BERNAMA