KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 — The ringgit continued to strengthen against the US dollar at the opening on the final trading day of 2021, although the greenback gained better demand in line with the US Dollar Index (DXY), which rose 0.06 per cent to 95.989 points, an analyst said.
At 9am, the local note rose to 4.1720/1760 versus the greenback from 4.1750/1785 at Thursday’s close.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the benchmark equities such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) reversed its gains while the 10-year US Treasury yields dipped about four basis points to 1.51 per cent last night.
“This happens as the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said cruise ships should be avoided due to risk of COVID-19,” he told Bernama.
Given the scenario, he said the ringgit could be experiencing some corrections later today following the erratic movements on Wall Street last night.
However, the local unit was traded lower against a basket of other major currencies.
The ringgit depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.0851/0888 from 3.0835/0865 at Thursday’s close and fell versus the Japanese yen to 3.6259/6294 from 3.6248/6281.
The domestic unit also dipped versus the euro to 4.7256/7302 from 4.7178/7217 and narrowed vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6322/6376 from 5.6187/6234 previously.
— Bernama
