KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — The ringgit rebounded against the US dollar this morning, buoyed by buying interest and supported by the firmer oil prices, analysts said.
At 9 am, the local note stood at 4.1890/1930 versus the greenback compared with 4.1935/1955 at Wednesday’s close.
The increase in oil prices came after a global agreement to release crude reserves failed to allay fears of supply disruptions, said an analyst.
“The surge in oil prices — coupled with the weaker US dollar as market participants remained cautious over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine — has lent support for the ringgit,” the analyst told Bernama.
Meanwhile, MARC Ratings Bhd recently said that it expects Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to hold the overnight policy rate (OPR) at the historical low of 1.75 per cent in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on March 4.
The rating agency said it envisaged BNM to continue its cautious stance while maintaining its assessment of the economy and inflation outlook.
“BNM has been in this status quo since July 2020 to support the economy’s fragile recovery,” it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of other major currencies, except against the yen where it rose to 3.6237/6275 from 3.6519/6544 at Wednesday’s close.
The local note had slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.0895/0926 from 3.0882/0899 at the close yesterday, depreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6061/6115 from 5.5807/5834 earlier and declined versus the euro to 4.6510/6555 from 4.6481/6503 previously.
— Bernama
