KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — The ringgit recovered some lost ground to end the week slightly higher against the US dollar, on positive sentiment as oil prices remain steady while vaccination rate in the country improves, an analyst said.
At 6pm, the local note increased to 4.1380/1410 versus the greenback from 4.1390/1400 at Thursday’s close.
The analyst said although the ringgit was weaker along with other Asian currencies earlier today after the US dollar surged post-Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the local unit managed to find some buying support despite the firmer dollar.
According to reports, Brent crude could surge above US$80 per barrel as pent-up demand unleased by the easing of the pandemic stokes global consumption.
It said global oil demand may hit a record high in August.
As at the time of writing, Brent crude for July contract eased 0.51 per cent to US$72.71 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme recorded the highest daily tally of vaccination on Thursday with the dispensing of 221,706 doses, exceeding the government’s target of 200,000 doses per day.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba in his tweet said based on the daily report on the cumulative number of vaccine registration on www.vaksincovid.gov.my, a total of 14,637,437 individuals have registered for the vaccination as of Thursday.
At the close, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.0851/0875 versus 3.0918/0930 at Thursday’s close, advanced against the British pound to 5.7526/7568 from 5.7826/7840 and improved against the euro to 4.9308/9344 from 4.9465/9477.
However, against the Japanese yen, the ringgit eased to 3.7570/7598 from 3.7389/7402 previously.
— Bernama
