Malaysian Ringgit Opens Slightly Higher Against US Dollar

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian ringgit opened slightly higher in the early session on renewed buying interest, said a dealer. At 9 am, the ringgit was traded at 4.1770/1810 versus the greenback from 4.1790/1830 on Monday. OANDA Head of Trading Asia-Pacific Stephen Innes said US equity markets struggled in trading, which dampened market sentiment alongside softer oil prices. “While the weaker global growth storyline weighs on local equity markets, currency markets are experiencing some carry trade and bond appeal, which is filtering through to the emerging markets. “However, the ringgit is still attractive to investors as the economy looks robust supported by oil exports,” he told Bernama. Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies. It fell to 3.0436/0469 against the Singapore dollar from 3.0388/0440 on Monday and easier to 3.7047/7089 against the Japanese yen from 3.6865/6910. The local unit weakened against the British pound to 5.2689/2743 from 5.2651/2714 and depreciated against the euro to 4.7388/7450 from 4.7340/7393. -- BERNAMA