KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): The ringgit opened firmer versus the US dollar on Tuesday (Jan 10) improved demand for the local note backed by solid economic data that showed a good recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, including a falling unemployment rate in recent months, said ActivTrades.

At 9am, the local note had risen 20 basis points to 4.3700/3760 against the greenback, from Monday’s close at 4.3720/3765.

ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said although the inflation number in Malaysia was high at 4.0% in November 2022, it was still lower than inflation in the US, which last read 7.1% for the same month.

“All these numbers point to a favourable economic situation in Malaysia, which should encourage the entry of foreign capital into the country, causing the US dollar-ringgit [exchange rate] to fall over the next few months.

“From a technical point of view, if the US dollar-ringgit breaks below the 4.3650 level, it may drop as low as 4.2400 before finding some more important support,” Diniz told Bernama. 

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.2835/2885 from 3.2793/2832 at Monday’s close, and weakened vis-a-vis the yen to 3.3184/3235 from 3.3009/3045 previously.

The local currency depreciated versus the pound to 5.3196/3269 from 5.3124/3179 on Monday, and eased against the euro to 4.6877/6941 from 4.6636/6684.