THE ringgit snapped its three-day losing streak to open higher against the US dollar in the early session today as the greenback softened following a lower-than-expected US April consumer price index data released last night.

At 9am, the local note rose to 4.4470/4505 versus the US dollar from yesterday’s closing rate of 4.4565/4605.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US inflation rate moderated to 4.9% year-on-year in April, lower than consensus estimates of 5%.

The core inflation rate stood at 5.5% matching the consensus forecast.

“Generally speaking, the US inflation rate has been progressively lower after reaching 9.1% in June last year, suggesting the restrictive monetary policy stance by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) has led to lower inflation, although still above the 2% target.

“As such, the chance of a pause in the Fed Funds Rate is rising, leading to a weaker dollar. Hence, the ringgit may appreciate against the greenback today,” he told Bernama.

The ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

It depreciated against the euro to 4.8877/8915 from 4.8830/8874 at yesterday’s close, went down against the Japanese yen to 3.3162/3190 from 3.2962/2994 yesterday, but was higher vis-a-vis the British pound at 5.6188/6232 versus 5.6254/6305 previously.

The local note traded mixed against Asean currencies.

It improved vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 13.2331/2495 from 13.2354/2528 and gained versus the Indonesian rupiah to 301.8/302.2 from 302.4/302.8 yesterday.

However, the local note slipped to 3.3588/3619 against the Singapore dollar compared with 3.3563/3596 yesterday and was flat against the Philippines’ pesos to 8.00/8.01 from 8.00/8.01 previously. – Bernama, May 11, 2023.