Ringgit opens lower against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar in line with emerging Asian currencies and on concerns over geopolitical tensions in Syria, dealers said.
At 9am, the ringgit was quoted at 3.8780/8810 compared with Thursday's 3.8750/8780.
A dealer said US President Donald Trump's warning of imminent military action in Syria prompted investors worldwide to sell riskier assets.
"With the war drums quietly beating in the White House, markets tend to ignore the run-of-the-mill type issues like Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes and focus on possible geopolitical escalation fears," Oanda head of trading in Asia-Pacific, Stephen Innes said.
He added that with global equity markets likely to remain sour as investors move from trade war concerns to geopolitical fears, risk appetite would remain fragile and dent regional currency sentiment in turn.
The ringgit, however, traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.
It eased against the Singapore dollar to 2.9562/9597 from 2.9553/9580 on Thursday, but appreciated against the yen to 3.6091/6126 from 3.6235/6274.
The ringgit declined against the pound to 5.5219/5273 from 5.4905/4951, but was higher against the euro at 4.7804/7845 from 4.7810/7862. — Bernama