Malaysian Ringgit Opens Slightly Lower Against US Dollar

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian ringgit retreated from Wednesday's gains to open slightly lower against the US dollar on Thursday on renewed concerns over a possible US interest rate rise, dealer said. At 9.10 am, the local unit traded at 4.4480/4530 to the greenback from 4.4430/4460. A dealer said the US dollar regained some lost ground after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested the central bank was ready to raise overnight interest rates quickly in the coming year. The ringgit, however, traded higher against a basket of major currencies. It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.1111/1149 from 3.1267/1301 on Wednesday and strengthened against the British pound to 5.4515/4580 from 5.4724/4784. The ringgit rose versus the euro to 4.7256/7326 from 4.7513/7563 and improved against the Japanese yen at 3.8749/8806 from 3.9228/9265. --BERNAMA