Ringgit Opens Slightly Higher Against Greenback

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 -- The ringgit was marginally higher against the US dollar in early trade Monday, against the backdrop of impending interest rate hike by the United States Federal Reserve, which was already factored into the market. As at 9.06 am, the local unit stood at 4.448/4550 against the greenback from 4.4490/4540 at 6pm on Friday. A dealer said an expected a sell-off would occur ahead of and post US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which would then end the dollar's bullish performance. February's employment data, released on Friday, for the world's largest economy, showed that the labour market was very close to full employment. This was supportive of an interest rate hike which is being highly speculated. On the local front, the ringgit rose against the pound to 5.4088/4182 from 5.4167/4241 last Friday. However, it depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.1461/1522 from 3.1384/1424, fell against the yen to 3.8725/8800 from 3.8566/8620 and was lower against the euro at 4.7514/7593 from 4.7217/7275 on Friday. -- BERNAMA