KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar as the greenback rose broadly against major peers after the release of upbeat US economic data, currency traders said.
At 9.20 am, the local unit was quoted at 3.6660/6690 against the greenback compared with 3.6595/6625 at 5 pm yesterday.
"The US dollar extended its rally in Asian session after the upbeat US jobless claim data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected.
"Another report showed activity in the services sector hit a six-month high in March also among factors that sparked the greenback's turnaround this morning," the trader said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit eased against other major currencies. It fell against the Singapore dollar to 2.6763/6806 from Thursday's 2.6810/6851 and depreciated against the yen to 3.0768/0806 from 3.0879/0912 yesterday.
The local unit weakened against the British pound to 5.4488/4547 from Thursday's 5.4775/4839 and declined against the Euro to 3.9908/9955 from 4.0401/0445 yesterday. -- Bernama