KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar amid growing expectations that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the US Federal Reserve would cut interest rates soon. The local note stood at 4.2100/2150 against the greenback from 4.2120/2180 recorded at 6 pm Friday. AxiCorp chief market strategist Stephen Innes said BNM could cut its policy rate by 25 basis points during the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting tomorrow. "BNM rate cut tomorrow perhaps will help market sentiment along with the ringgit, which at the moment is trading hypersensitive to the growth outlook," he added. Innes said the market is also expecting the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at each of the next two rate cut decisions.

Source: The Star March 02, 2020 02:15 UTC