The ringgit eased further to open lower against the US dollar this morning on sluggish external sentiment, dealers said.

At 9.25am, the ringgit was quoted at 3.2210/2240 against the greenback from yesterday's 3.2190/2220.

A dealer said the ringgit weakened as bearish data from the US raised concerns over the possibility of the Federal Reserve tapering their asset purchases sooner, rather than later.

Meanwhile, the local unit was traded mostly lower against other major currencies.

It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.5712/5738 from 2.5731/5760 on Tuesday but eased against the Japanese yen to 3.1756/1801 from 3.1721/1756 previously.

The currency depreciated against the British pound to 5.2174/2226 from yesterday's 5.2122/2174 but weakened against the euro to 4.3683/3730 from Tuesday's 4.3630/3674.-- Bernama