Ringgit Opens Lower Against US Dollar

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (Bernama) -- The ringgit lost ground to the US dollar in opening lower Friday, as the greenback continued to strengthen, even as the global risk landscape remains uncertain, dealers said. At 9 am, the ringgit fell to 4.1950/1980 against the greenback from 4.1890/1940 at Thursday’s close. A dealer said US President Donald Trump’s latest move in the trade war in targeting Mexico's imports, is pressuring other emerging markets, including Malaysia. On a related note, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Japan Thursday proposed a new currency based on gold, as it is more stable as opposed to the current currency trading which is manipulative. He said by using the precious metal, it could be used to evaluate the exports and import activities among East Asian countries. The ringgit, meanwhile, traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. It declined against the Singapore dollar to 3.0388/0420 from Thursday’s 3.0368/0409 and depreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.8391/8429 from 3.8182/8239. The local note, however, strengthened versus the British pound to 5.2895/29491 from 5.2911/2991, but eased against the euro to 4.6699/6753 from 4.6674/6738. -- BERNAMA​