KUALA LUMPUR (March 19): The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Tuesday, due to lack of buying interest, as cautious sentiments surrounding the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) monetary policy decision continued to prevail.

At 9.05am, the ringgit had depreciated to 4.7225/7265 against the greenback, from Monday’s close at 4.7165/7195.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said market players will be focusing on the BOJ’s monetary policy decision on Tuesday, due to expectations that the Japanese central bank will end its negative interest rate policy and yield curve control.

Apart from that, he said market participants will also be observing the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which will begin on Tuesday and end on Wednesday.

On that note, the ringgit is expected to remain soft in light of the cautious trading mode, he told Bernama.

“However, positive data from China on Monday offers some hope that the second-largest global economy is gaining some traction, following a series of economic and monetary stimulus,” said Mohd Afzanizam.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

It decreased vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.1631/1660 from 3.1608/1630 on Monday, fell against the British pound to 6.0070/0121 from 6.0060/0098, but rose versus the euro to 5.1338/1382 from 5.1400/1433 previously.

At the same time, the ringgit traded mixed against other Asean currencies.

It weakened versus the Thai baht to 13.1104/1262 from 13.1050/1203 at Monday’s close, and slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 300.9/301.3 from 300.5/300.9.

However, the local note was almost flat against the Singapore dollar at 3.5258/5291 from 3.5253/5278 on Monday, and increased against the Philippine peso to 8.48/8.49 from 8.49/8.50 previously.