Ringgit opens higher against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar today as the greenback lost ground after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) increased interest rates on Wednesday.
At 9am, the local note was traded at 4.4300/4350 against the greenback from Wednesday's close of 4.4460/4500.
A dealer said the ringgit rebounded despite the Fed raising interest rates by 25 basis points to a range of 0.75% to 1.00% yesterday.
"The rate hike was widely expected and was already factored into the market. It is not a surprise move," she said.
Meanwhile, the dollar weakened against other major currencies following a less hawkish policy statement by Fed which indicated that there would be an additional two rounds of interest rate increase this year, albeit, at a gradual pace.
The ringgit, however, traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It shed against the Singapore dollar to 3.1564/1609 from 3.1463/1507 on Wednesday and vis-a-vis the yen, it fell to 3.9103/9151 from 3.8782/8821 yesterday.
The local note weakened against the British pound to 5.4365/4453 from 5.4250/4312 on Wednesday and was lower against the euro at 4.7556/7614 from 4.7243/7290 yesterday. — Bernama