Ringgit Opens Lower Against Stronger Greenback

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar Wednesday morning as investor interest shifted towards the greenback. At 9.12 am, the ringgit traded at 4.2020/2090 to the US dollar from 4.1500/1550 on Tuesday. A dealer said investors favoured the US dollar mainly due to the Federal Reserve's continued hints that its interest rate increase campaign was on track, albeit at a cautious pace. "Furthermore, recent data, indicating better-than-expected retail sales in the United States also boosted the interest of buyers," he added. Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against other major currencies. It fell against the Singapore dollar to 2.9861/9927 from 2.9590/9647 Tuesday and weakened versus the yen to 3.6789/6860 from 3.6276/6329. The local unit depreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6777/6871 from 4.6356/6428, but rose against the British pound to 6.0080/0201 from 6.0171/0252. -- BERNAMA