Ringgit opens lower against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit reversed last week's upward momentum to open lower this morning on the back of a stronger US dollar, a dealer said.
At 9.01am, the ringgit was quoted at 3.9960/4.000 against the greenback from last Thursday's close of 3.9835/9875.
The US dollar soared to an almost seven-month high after hawkish signals from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) on interest rates, with indications of a further two more increases before year-end.
The Fed concluded its Wednesday meeting last week by raising the interest rate by 0.25% for a second time this year to between 1.75% and 2%.
According to the dealer, weak market participation on the local front due to many traders being away for the Hari Raya holiday, also partly contributed to the unfavourable market performance.
However, the ringgit traded higher against other major currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 2.9550/9586 from Thursday's 2.9861/9896 and increased against the Japanese yen to 3.6143/6189 from 3.6230/6270.
The ringgit strengthened versus the British pound to 5.2991/3064 from 5.3506/3576 and improved vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6270/6320 from 4.7097/7160.
The market was closed on last Friday for Hari Raya. — Bernama