KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened decrease in opposition to the dollar this morning as a consequence of falling crude oil prices amid US President Joe Biden’s administration’s resolution on a record-breaking launch of crude oil reserves to tame prices, stated an analyst.
At 9 am, the native forex was buying and selling at 4.2100/2140 in opposition to the dollar from 4.2025/2055 at Thursday’s shut.
It was reported that the US authorities will withdraw a million barrels per day of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for a interval of six months in a bid to decrease gasoline prices and allay fears of shortages after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At the identical time, the Russian authorities additionally insisted that cost for fuel import might be in roubles or else it can reduce the provides reduce, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid instructed Benama.
At the time of writing, benchmark Brent crude oil slipped 4.88 per cent to US$107.91 per barrel.
Mohd Afzanizam stated the primary quarter of 2022 has been very unstable and the navy battle, which started on Feb 24, has added additional dimension to market uncertainties.
“It was unsettling for the market, resulting in strain for the protected demand to prevail,” Mohd Afzanizam stated, including that the US greenback index (DXY) rose 0.53 per cent to 98.312 factors as foreign exchange buyers have been in search of refuge in opposition to market uncertainties.
In the meantime, the reopening of Malaysia’s worldwide borders as we speak would imply financial actions are more likely to be extra energetic going ahead and it ought to assist speed up home demand.
As such, the ringgit ought to stay lackluster as we speak and probably transfer in a slim vary, Mohd Afzanizam stated.
At the opening, the ringgit was traded largely combined in opposition to a basket of main currencies.
The native unit depreciated in opposition to the British pound to five.5303/5355 from 5.5158/5197 on Thursday and fell versus the Japanese yen to three.4477/4513 from 3.4472/4502 beforehand.
The ringgit rose in opposition to the euro to 4.6592/6636 from 4.6698/6732 at yesterday’s shut, and remained unchanged in opposition to Singapore greenback at 3.1033/1065 from 3.1033/1060 beforehand. – Bernama
