By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 (Bernama) -- The ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar on Monday, supported by a decline in the US Dollar Index (DXY) last Friday, according to an economist.
As of 8 a.m., the ringgit was trading at 4.5010/5100 against the greenback, up from 4.5055/5100 at Friday's close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the DXY slipped to 107.621 points after exceeding 108 points last Friday.
“The softer-than-expected November PCE inflation, which eased to 2.4 per cent, combined with concerns over a potential US government shutdown, prompted traders to take profits on the US dollar.
“Given this, the ringgit could perform well against the US dollar today, as last week’s sell-off was rather excessive,” he told Bernama.
However, the ringgit weakened against other major currencies.
It edged lower against the Japanese yen to 2.8749/8809 from 2.8747/8779 on Friday and fell against the British pound to 5.6578/6691 from 5.6328/6384. It also declined against the euro, trading at 4.6959/7053 compared with 4.6776/6823 previously.
The ringgit was mixed against ASEAN currencies.
It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.3201/3277 from 3.3146/3181 and eased against the Thai baht to 13.1199/1617 from 13.0670/0861.
Conversely, it strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 277.3/278.1 from 277.7/278.1 and rose against the Philippine peso to 7.65/7.67 from 7.66/7.67.
-- BERNAMA
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