RINGGIT OPENS LOWER AS OIL SURGE BOOSTS US DOLLAR

By Karina Imran

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) -- The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Monday as heightened risk aversion strengthened the greenback after Brent crude oil prices surged 15.5 per cent to US$107.04 per barrel, an analyst said.

At 8 am, the local currency slipped to 3.9550/9800 against the greenback from Friday’s close of 3.9425/9535.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said Brent had risen a sharp 37.7 per cent to US$107.04 per barrel from US$77.74 a week earlier after Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader.

“Following the risk-off sentiment, the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose 0.52 per cent to 99.496 points.

“As such, emerging market currencies, including the ringgit, are likely to remain weak in the near term amid fragile market sentiment,” he told Bernama.

He said risks of a wider regional conflict in the Gulf had intensified after Bahrain’s water desalination plant sustained material damage in an Iranian drone attack.

Meanwhile, the United States and Israel are expected to escalate military action against Iran.

“In that sense, economic data may have taken a back seat as unfolding events in the Middle East are expected to have a material impact on global inflation and growth.

“Based on technical charts, the prevailing resistance and support levels for the US dollar-ringgit pair are at RM4.0285 and RM3.8800, respectively,” he said.

At the open, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies, but weakened against the British pound to 5.2621/2954 from 5.2530/2676 at Friday’s close.

It strengthened against the euro to 4.5577/5866 from 4.5634/5762 and edged up against the Japanese yen to 2.4967/5126 from 2.4973/5044 previously.

The local note traded mixed against ASEAN currencies.

It appreciated against the Thai baht to 12.3312/4169 from 12.3392/3810 on Friday, but weakened versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0788/0987 from 3.0779/0867.

The ringgit also slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 233.6/235.2 from 232.9/233.6 and eased against the Philippine peso to 6.70/6.75 from 6.68/6.70.

-- BERNAMA