Thailand
Malaysia: Ringgit opens lower against US dollar on technical correction
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 ― The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar today as technical correction continues due to profit-taking activities amid firmer oil prices, dealers said.
At 9am, the local currency was traded at 4.1920/1932 against the greenback from 4.1860/1880 at yesterday’s close.
The climb in crude oil prices, which saw Brent crude traded 0.29 per cent higher at US$80.23 per barrel at the time of writing, also lent support to the ringgit.
Meanwhile, traders would be monitoring the risks posed by the Omicron variant besides focusing on this week’s US Federal Reserve minutes releases and US payroll data, according to reports.
On another note, the ringgit was traded mixed against a basket of other major currencies.
It eased versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0905/0916 from yesterday’s close of 3.0891/0906 but improved against the Japanese yen to 3.6076/6089 from 3.6133/6153.
The local currency depreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6718/6734 from 5.6465/6489 yesterday but strengthened against the euro to 4.7277/7291 from 4.7310/7337. ― Bernama