Ringgit opens lower against United States dollar

They fell 8.5 tons to 1,940.6 tons as of Thursday, the lowest since July.

At 10am, the ringgit was trading at 4.4030/4100 against the USA dollar.

Silver prices declined for a third consecutive day Friday and were on track for another weekly loss, as rate-hike bets continued to fuel the U.S. dollar. Prices are down 0.6 percent this week. The euro slumped to US$1.0620, a low last seen nearly a year ago. This move underscored to the markets it is serious about keeping the yield on Japan’s benchmark 10-year government bond at zero percent in its bid to control the yield curve and keep borrowing costs low. It looks set to log its fourth straight week of losses.

DOLLAR KEEPS RISING: Higher interest rates also means a stronger dollar, and the dollar rose to 109.3 yen from 109.15 yen. Ms. Yellen reiterated that the Fed’s decision to keep rates on hold in November did “not reflect a lack of confidence in the economy”. “The Trump magic is continuing”.

“In a context of an economy that’s operating reasonably close to maximum employment, with inflation heading back toward 2 per cent, that such a package could have inflationary consequences that the Fed have to take into account in devising policy, and that the market responses are consistent with that view”, She noted. The dollar was also higher against the Australian dollar and the Singapore dollar.

Traders are pricing in an 83 percent chance of a December move, according to Thomson Reuters data.

“There is a sense of reassurance on the lack of official comments against the dollar strengthening”, said Michiyoshi Kato, senior vice president of foreign-currency sales at Mizuho Bank Ltd.in Tokyo.

Neil Wilson, market analyst at ETX Capital, said “the fact is a December rate hike has already been priced in – markets think there is a roughly 90% chance the Fed will increase the target federal funds rate”.

Gold slid to a five-month low and silver neared a bear market as the dollar rallied amid mounting expectation for higher US interest rates.

Weekly new jobless claims hit a 43-year low, the consumer price index posted its strongest gain in six months and monthly housing starts increased. She reiterated the future rate increases would be “gradual”, but made no mention of how the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump might affect the hike. The United States benchmark 10-year Treasury yield jumped 5-1/2 basis points to 2.32 percent.

“Despite no concrete economic proposals on the table from Trump’s team. the market is fully subscribing to a return of Reagan-esque fiscal (spending), along with a steeper path of interest rate normalisation”, Stephen Innes, senior trader at OANDA, said. Appreciating dollar also pulled down a host of global currencies including euro and Japanese yen. The index now stands at its highest level since 2003. “Double top” is a technical analysis term describing a currency (or other liquid asset) rising to a high, falling, and then rising again to the same level. The contract fell 15 cents to settle at $45.42 a barrel on Thursday.