Ringgit continues upward momentum to end higher

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit continued its upward momentum to end higher against the US dollar today on positive sentiment brought by expectations of Malaysia's stronger growth, dealers said.
At 6 pm, the local unit traded at 4.1480/1510 against the greenback from 4.1600/1630 last Friday.
A dealer said the ringgit continued to respond to the positive spillover from Malaysia's 6.2% economic growth recorded in the third quarter of this year as announced last Friday.
"The sentiment was also lifted by the recent hawkish monetary policy statement by Bank Negara Malaysia, as well as expectations of a stronger economic growth and a wider current account surplus.
"Looking forward, we expect the ringgit to recover gradually over time as the Malaysian economy is still expected to grow at a sustained pace," he said.
The dealer said the strengthening of the ringgit was also contributed by the weaker US dollar due to uncertainty over the US tax reform plan.
It is noted that while the local note strengthened significantly, oil prices dipped three percent during the Nov 8-16 period, indicating that the ringgit remained disengaged with movements in global crude prices, he added.
The ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies except for the Japanese yen.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0599/0623 from 3.0656/0685 and strengthened versus the euro to 4.8917/8961 from 4.9055/9103 on last Friday.
It increased against the British pound to 5.5073/5134 from 5.5120/5168 last Friday but weakened vis-a-vis the yen to 3.6993/7026 from 3.6961/6998 previously. – Bernama