KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened little changed against the US dollar today, after closing broadly higher yesterday, on positive sentiment brought by the approval of Budget 2021.
The US dollar is gaining some ground against a broad basket of currencies in quiet trading due to Thanksgiving holiday as the dollar index rebounded above 92, dealers said.
At 9am, the local currency was slightly lower at 4.0670/0720 against the greenback compared with Thursday’s close of 4.0650/0700.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit against US dollar pair looks constructive following the approval of Budget 2021 with a voice vote at the policy stage after going through intense debates during the Dewan Rakyat sitting yesterday.
This would have cleared the uncertainty which will pave the way for cementing the convincing economic recovery next year, he said.
“With an expansionary budget and accommodative monetary policy, as well as forthcoming prospects from the external sector, the outlook on ringgit is quite decent the way we see it.
“Despite that, some correction can be expected as the ringgit has been appreciating quite considerably of late,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was also traded lower against other major currencies at the opening, except the British pound.
The local note was lower against the Singapore dollar at 3.0380/0420 compared with Thursday’s close of 3.0365/0405 and declined versus the euro to 4.8446/8522 from 4.8382/8457.
It fell vis-a-vis the yen to 3.9053/9112 from 3.8982/9041 on Thursday but increased against the British pound to 5.4299/4369 from 5.4308/4391 yesterday.