Ringgit stronger on the back of weak US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar this morning, extending gains from yesterday as weak sentiment over developments in the United States curbed demand for the greenback, dealers said.
At 9am, the local note was quoted at 4.3150/3200 against the US dollar from 4.3200/3230 as at 6pm Tuesday.
A dealer said the release of weaker-than-expected data US housing data coupled with concerns over domestic political turmoil following President Donald Trump's disclosure of highly classified information to Russian officials, had depressed sentiment for the dollar.
"This development hurt investors' optimism over possible bullish growth for US and higher inflation," the dealer added.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded broadly lower against a basket of other major currencies.
It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.0910/0957 from 3.0903/0929 on Tuesday and weakened versus the Japanese yen to 3.8315/8376 from yesterday's 3.8038/8075.
The local unit depreciated against the British pound to 5.5745/5814 from 5.5659/5706 and contracted vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7875/7943 from 4.7706/7756 on Tuesday.
The euro rallied following weaknesses in the US dollar, bullish 1.7%, year-on-year, economic growth and Emmanuel Macron's victory in France's presidential election. — Bernama