Ringgit opens at 4.31 against USD

The ringgit opened lower versus the US dollar today on weak demand for the local currency, dealers said.

At 9am, the ringgit was quoted at 4.3160/3250 from 4.2900/2970 on Thursday.

A dealer said the ringgit was traded lower on the first day of trading due to weak sentiment with the US monetary policy diverging to continue backing the greenback for this year.

"The dollar is set to perform better over its world peers and continue last year's trend," the dealer said.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher versus other major currencies. 

Against the Singapore dollar, it strengthened to 3.0303/0387 from 3.0367/0423 on Thursday and vis-a-vis the yen it slipped to 3.5826/5916 from 3.5637/5698.