KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit slipped further to open lower against the US dollar on Friday as the greenback continues to rally amid the release of Initial Jobless Claims data, which helped the US currency gain versus its counterparts.

       At 9 am, the local note eased to 4.2325/2365 against the greenback from 4.2295/2300 at yesterday’s close.

       ActivTrades trader, Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said analysts are forecasting a possible increase of 0.75 per cent in the US interest rate in 2022 and the market has already started pricing this in.

       On home front, he said the upcoming release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) would likely provide direction for the local currency against the US dollar.

       "If the data is lower than expected, it could cause an acceleration in the movement of the US dollar against the ringgit which will likely touch the RM4.2400 region," he told Bernama.

       At the opening, the local note was traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.

       It rose versus the British pound to 5.6330/6384 from 5.6392/6399 at Thursday's close and appreciated vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.0921/0953 from 3.0933/094.

       However, the ringgit fell against the Japanese yen to 3.6820/6858 from 3.6667/6674 yesterday and slipped against the euro to 4.7467/7512 from 4.7463/7469. - Bernama