By Anas Abu Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 (Bernama) -- The ringgit opened marginally lower against the US dollar on Friday due to the lack of buying momentum as demand for the greenback remained strong on the back of its safe-haven status, a dealer said.

At 9 am, the local currency fell to 4.5670/5710 against the greenback from 4.5660/5695 at yesterday’s close.

ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the recent United States (US) interest rate hike was a signal that the US central bank will continue with its restrictive monetary policy to contain the advance of inflation.

“Market expectations are that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will keep tightening until the year-end, at which point interest rates could be between 4.0 per cent and 4.5 per cent.

“The dollar may continue to appreciate against the ringgit until it approaches the 4.6000 region," he told Bernama.

Nevertheless, from a technical point of view, Diniz noted that the dollar is in an overbought situation against the ringgit, which calls for attention for investors betting on the pair.

At the opening, the ringgit was traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.

It declined against the Japanese yen to 3.2139/2172 from 3.1890/1919 at yesterday’s close and went down versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2207/2238 from 3.2196/2225.

However, the local note appreciated against the British pound to 5.1447/1492 from 5.1564/1603 on Thursday and rose vis-a-vis the euro to 4.4958/4997 from 4.5002/5037.

-- BERNAMA