THE ringgit opened lower against the US dollar in early trade today given the prevailing sentiment in the market, which suggests a weaker outlook for global growth.

At 9.01am, the local note decreased to 4.5640/5695 against the greenback compared with 4.5575/5625 at yesterday’s close.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index for June is expected to show a decline of 1% based on consensus estimates.

“Meanwhile, United States Federal Reserve officials’ statement implies that the Fed Fund Rate will likely remain high in the short term, but there is a chance of a rate cut next year if inflation continues to ease.

“Consequently, the US Dollar Index inched up by 0.03% to reach 102.047 yesterday,” he told Bernama.

He expected the ringgit to hover around 4.56 against the US dollar today.

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

It dropped vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.8287/8357 from 5.7971/8035 yesterday’s close and fell against the euro to 5.0158/0219 from 4.9978/0032.

Meanwhile, it rose against the Japanese yen to 3.1918/1961 from 3.2018/2056 previously.

The local unit traded mixed against other Asean currencies.

The ringgit appreciated against the Thai baht at 13.0792/1006 from 13.0801/0997 previously and rose against the Philippine peso to 8.12/8.14 from 8.13/8.14.

It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.3996/4042 from 3.3968/4008 and went down against the Indonesian rupiah to 300.5/301.0 from 300.0/300.6 previously. – Bernama, August 8, 2023.