KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower for the last trading day of the week, dampened by external sentiment, a dealer said.

At 9 am, the ringgit was traded at 4.4660/4690 versus the US dollar from 4.4440/4480 at yesterday's closing.

The strengthening of the US dollar due to the recent announcement by the Federal Reserve on interest rates has affected Asian currencies as well as emerging market currencies, and Malaysia is not excluded.

FXTM Research Analyst Lukman Otunuga said from a technical standpoint, the dollar is heavily bullish on the daily timeframe with yesterday's hawkish surprise sending the US Dollar Index to fresh 14-year highs above 102.50.

"The dollar's strength could become a key theme in 2017 as the improving sentiment towards the US entices bullish investors to propel the greenback higher," he said in a statement.

Against a basket of major currencies, the ringgit traded higher.

Vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar, the ringgit rose to 3.0945/0983 from 3.1049/1096 and versus the yen, it improved to 3.7758/7796 from 3.7846/7894 on Thursday.

Against the British pound, the local currency appreciated to 5.5320/5380 from 5.5873/5949, while against the euro it rose to 4.6518/6563 from 4.6851/6921. -- BERNAMA