Ringgit Opens Unchanged Against US Dollar

KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 (Bernama) – The ringgit opened unchanged against the US dollar on cautious market sentiment and against the backdrop of Bank Negara Malaysia or Central Bank of Malaysia, announcing the 2018 first quarter results Thursday, a dealer said. As at 9 am, the local unit was quoted at 3.9650/9710 from 3.9650/9700 recorded yesterday. The dealer said some investors remained on the sidelines awaiting the central bank's announcement, while market sentiment locally was quiet, alongside some interest in the US dollar which was higher on improved US Treasury yields. “I expect the US dollar versus the ringgit to grind higher over the short term in line with the broader US dollar/ Asia basket,” he added. Against a basket of major currencies, the local note traded mostly lower, except for the yen, which rose to 3.5931/5989 from 3.5993/6042. The ringgit fell against the Singapore dollar to 2.9583/9643 from 2.9530/9569 on Wednesday and decreased versus the British pound to 5.3698/3795 from 5.3416/3500, while weakening against the euro at 4.6827/6913 from 4.6811/6886. -- BERNAMA