KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened firmer against the US dollar today, galvanised by the better Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) data for September 2021.

       At 9.15 am, the local note rose to 4.1490/1520 versus the greenback from 4.1505/1513 at Tuesday's close.

       ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the higher-than-expected IPI data gave a boost to the buying support for the ringgit.

       Malaysia’s IPI increased by 2.5 per cent year-on-year in September 2021, attributed to the 4.0 per cent growth in the manufacturing index and 0.4 per cent rise in the electricity index, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) on Tuesday.

       Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said on a month-on-month basis, the IPI increased by 3.7 per cent, driven by the manufacturing and electricity sectors.

       Meanwhile, Diniz said from a technical standpoint, if the US$-MYR pair breaches the 4.1600 level, it could rise to 4.1930 within a few days.

       "On the other hand, if it breaks down from 4.1380, it could drop further to 4.0950,” he said to Bernama.

       At the opening, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

       The local note rose vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6252/6293 from 5.6326/6332 at Tuesday’s close and improved against the Singapore dollar at 3.0797/0822 from 3.0849/0852.

       It also appreciated against the euro to 4.8099/8134 from 4.8112/8133 yesterday, but fell against the Japanese yen to 3.6769/6799 from 3.6677/6694 previously. - Bernama