Malaysian Ringgit Opens Slightly Higher

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar on mild buying support, a dealer said. At 9.15 am on Wednesday, the local note was traded at 4.4300/4350 against the greenback from 4.4310/4360 at 6pm on Tuesday. The dealer said traders shifted their interest to Asian currencies,including the ringgit, on continued geopolitical tensions. "The US dollar stood at a five-month low versus the Japanese yen today (Wednesday) ... and if the fears continues, we hope to see Asian currencies traded higher," the dealer said. Bank Negara Malaysia (Malaysia's Central Bank) is expected to hold a briefing soon on the second series of initiatives to develop the onshore financial market. This, according to the dealer, will further help lift the local currency, However, the local note was traded lower against other major currencies, on Wednesday morning. It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.1586/1633 from 3.1551/1591 on Tuesday and weakened against the yen to 4.0486/0550 from 4.0038/0094, previously. The ringgit depreciated against the British pound to 5.5322/5389 from 5.5020/5086 and was lower against the euro at 4.7002/7073 from 4.6995/7053 on Tuesday. --BERNAMA