KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar this morning on mild demand for the domestic note.
At 9.22 am, the local note rose to 4.6825/6860 against the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.6865/6920.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid expects the ringgit to stay in a narrow range today as a risk-off mode is likely to keep the US dollar well supported.
“We have the possibility of a US govt shutdown as the Congress needs to decide this week over disagreement on the spending bill. Nonetheless, the latest flash PMI for September seems to suggest there was some improvement in business sentiments.
“It’s a bit of a mixed signal but the heightened economic uncertainties would keep market participants guarded. Expect the US dollar/ringgit to range between RM4.67 to RM4.68 today,” he said
The ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It eased against the euro at 4.9869/9906 from Friday’s closing of 4.9860/9918 but was better versus the British pound at 5.7342/7385 from 5.7372/7439 and appreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.1560/1585 from 3.1593/1632 previously.
At the same time, the local note traded mixed against other Asean currencies.
It strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.0345/0493 from 13.0119/0322 on Friday and was little changed against the Indonesian rupiah at 304.5/304.9 from 304.7/305.3 previously.
It stood against the Philippine peso at 8.24/8.25 from 8.25/8.26 on Friday and increased against the Singapore dollar at 3.4296/4325 from 3.4313/4359.
Short-term rates remain stable
Short-term rates are expected to remain stable today on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) operations to absorb surplus liquidity from the financial system.
Liquidity is estimated at RM36.72 billion in the conventional system and RM18.22 billion in Islamic funds.
Today, the central bank will conduct two conventional money market tenders comprising RM1.0 billion for seven days and RM500 million for 14 days as well as a RM700 million Qard tender for seven days.
BNM will also conduct two reverse repo tenders consisting of RM1.5 billion for 30 days and RM500 million for 92 days.
The central bank will also be issuing Islamic interbank bills of RM1 billion for 30 days.
At 4 pm, it will conduct up to RM36.2 billion conventional overnight tender and RM18.5 billion for Murabahah overnight tender.
Foreign exchange rates
Following are the opening Malaysian foreign exchange for major currencies today:
1 USD 4.6825/6860
100 yen 3.1560/1585
1 pound 5.7342/7385
1 euro 4.9869/9906
1 SGD 3.4296/4325
100 baht 12.0345/0493
1 mln rupiah 304.5/304.9
100 pesos 8.24/8.25
Exchange rates issued by Malayan Banking Bhd today
| SELLING TT/OD | BUYING TT | BUYING OD | |
| 1 US Dollar | 4.7540 | 4.6200 | 4.6100 |
| 1 Australian Dollar | 3.0830 | 2.9620 | 2.9460 |
| 1 Brunei Dollar | 3.4830 | 3.3820 | 3.3740 |
| 1 Canadian Dollar | 3.5260 | 3.4320 | 3.4200 |
| 1 Euro | 5.0750 | 4.9110 | 4.8910 |
| 1 New Zealand Dollar | 2.8480 | 2.7430 | 2.7270 |
| 1 Papua N Guinea Kina | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1 Singapore Dollar | 3.4830 | 3.3820 | 3.3740 |
| 1 Sterling Pound | 5.8240 | 5.6430 | 5.6230 |
| 1 Swiss Franc | 5.2190 | 5.1020 | 5.0870 |
| 100 UAE Dirham | 131.0200 | 124.2800 | 124.0800 |
| 100 Bangladesh Taka | 4.4160 | 4.1290 | 3.9290 |
| 100 Chinese Renminbi | 65.4000 | 62.8000 | N/A |
| 100 Danish Krone | 69.7700 | 64.2100 | 64.0100 |
| 100 Hongkong Dollar | 61.4800 | 58.4300 | 58.2300 |
| 100 Indian Rupee | 5.8300 | 5.4700 | 5.2700 |
| 100 Indonesian Rupiah | 0.0320 | 0.0290 | 0.0240 |
| 100 Japanese Yen | 3.2090 | 3.1080 | 3.0980 |
| 100 New Taiwan Dollar | 15.9000 | N/A | N/A |
| 100 Norwegian Krone | 45.4400 | 41.7900 | 41.5900 |
| 100 Pakistan Rupee | 1.6900 | 1.5600 | 1.3600 |
| 100 Philippine Peso | 8.5000 | 8.0100 | 7.8100 |
| 100 Qatar Riyal | 131.9400 | 125.2600 | 125.0600 |
| 100 Saudi Riyal | 128.2600 | 121.7600 | 121.5600 |
| 100 South Africa Rand | 26.2400 | 23.7000 | 23.5000 |
| 100 Sri Lanka Rupee | 1.5100 | 1.3800 | 1.1800 |
| 100 Swedish Krona | 44.1500 | 40.2200 | 40.0200 |
| 100 Thai Baht | 13.8300 | 12.2600 | 11.8600 |
Gold down
The physical price of gold as at 9.30 am stood at RM280.46 per gramme, down 37 sen from RM280.83 at 5 pm last Friday. – BERNAMA
