Malaysian Ringgit Opens Easier Against US Dollar

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian ringgit opened easier against the US dollar on Tuesday as the greenback strengthened amid rising expectations of a March rate hike by the Federal Reserve. At 9 am, the local unit stood at 4.0020/0050 against the greenback from 3.9950/9990 at close on Monday. A dealer said the greenback was starting to gain ground, supported by expectations of three rate hikes this year, while helped by a pullback in the euro as investors took profits after its recent rally. He added that while the ringgit took a breather from its recent rally against the US dollar on Tuesday, sentiment remained positive for the local currency amid firmer crude oil prices, a better investment outlook in the local market, as well as expectations of a hike in the Overnight Policy Rate by Bank Negara Malaysia (Malaysia's Central Bank) this year. Meanwhile, the ringgit also traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.0038/0072 from 3.0008/0043 on Monday and fell against the yen to 3.5372/5402 from 3.5298/5342. The ringgit slipped against the euro to 4.7904/7948 from 4.7896/7952 yesterday and was lower against the British pound at 5.4295/4340 from 5.4036/4106. -- BERNAMA