KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit snapped two days of losses to end higher against the greenback today, supported by firmer Brent crude oil prices, a dealer said.
At 6pm, the local currency strengthened to 4.1150/1200 against the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.1200/1260.
Bank Islam chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the greenback, however, remained strong as the US Dollar Index (DXY) had been on the rise amid the positive US economic data points such as the ISM Manufacturing Index which continued to hover around 60 points in May.
He said that the US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen’s remark that the US interest rates would need to go up in order to avoid an overheating economy could weaken the ringgit, which had slid against the greenback from last week.
The focus now would be on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision on the Overnight Policy Rate tomorrow to see the central bank’s latest assessment on the domestic economy, he said.
“This is particularly in respect to the government’s latest move to designate six districts in Selangor under the Movement Control Order, alongside the indication by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin that the Phase 3 vaccination programme might not take off as planned in May.
“As such, the ringgit is expected to be traded in a tight range against the US dollar in the immediate term,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was also traded higher against other major currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0799/0848 from 3.0852/0902 on Tuesday and appreciated versus the euro to 4.9392/9461 from 4.9473/9549.
The local note improved versus the yen to 3.7628/7677 from 3.7653/7711 yesterday and was stronger vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.7174/7256 from 5.7181/7273 previously. — Bernama
