KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — The ringgit closed higher by 200 basis points (bps) against the US dollar today, maintaining its earlier gains on continuous buying interest for the local currency on steadier crude oil prices, said an analyst.
At 6pm, the local note further improved to 4.1050/1100 against the US dollar from 4.1250/1280 at yesterday’s close.
Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the US dollar is trading weaker, while oil prices are starting to rise again after a couple of days of consolidation, helping the local risk sentiment along quite nicely.
“It was quite the turnaround for the ringgit today as US yields eased, but just as significantly, inflation fears receded dramatically on the back of tepid US inflation data overnight, which contributed to better stock inflows into the region, and Malaysia was no exception,” he told Bernama.
At the time of writing, Brent crude oil stood at US$68.85 per barrel, rising 1.40 per cent.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mixed against other major currencies.
It depreciated against the Singapore dollar at 3.0637/0681 from 3.0635/0664 on Wednesday and eased against the euro to 4.9108/9176 from 4.9083/9127.
However, the ringgit appreciated versus the British pound to 5.7261/7339 from 5.7366/7425 yesterday and was higher against the Japanese yen to 3.7841/7894 from 3.7955/7987 previously.
— Bernama
