KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher on Monday following the bearish sentiment in the market for the US dollar after the release of its first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data last week, a dealer said.
At 9am, the ringgit traded at 4.2900/2970 against the greenback from 4.2920/2950 on Friday.
The dealer said at the beginning of this year, the Donald Trump-fuelled US dollar rally left the currency vulnerable to heavy losses and after six months, the greenback still lacked strong and fresh catalysts.
The US released its better-than-expected GDP data last week which showed that the US economy advanced 1.4%. Corporate profits, however, declined despite the upbeat data.
Overall, investors remained focus on central banks’ intentions to tighten monetary policies.
Against a basket of major currencies, the ringgit traded mixed.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1155/1210 from 3.1181/1220 on Friday and strengthened against the yen to 3.8194/8267 from 3.8328/8365.
The local note fell against the British pound to 5.5787/5904 from 5.5757/5801 and eased slightly against the euro to 4.8970/9055 from 4.8963/8015 on Friday.
Source: Bernama
