Stronger US Dollar Curbs Demand For Ringgit

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 (Bernama) -- The ringgit extended Monday’s downtrend to open easier against the US dollar Tuesday morning as risk appetite for the greenback strengthened amid rising oil prices, a dealer said. At 9 am, the local currency stood at 4.1400/1440 against 4.1380/1420 recorded at Monday's closing. OANDA Head of Trading in Asia-Pacific Stephen Innes said the resurgent US dollar and higher US bond yields were weighing on local sentiment. He also said the weaker-than-expected China Price Manufacturing Index, released Monday, has soured sentiment. Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mixed against other major currencies. It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0164/0195 from 3.0198/0238 on Monday and improved versus the euro to 4.7921/7979 from 4.8059/8118. The local currency, however, depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.6332/6370 from Monday’s 3.6295/6340 and weakened against the British pound to 5.3990/4046 from 5.3976/3049. -- BERNAMA