KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended its rebound last week to open higher against the US dollar today, supported by firmer crude oil prices.
Last week, the local currency stood at its strongest position against the greenback since January; moving below the psychologically-important 4.10 level to become one of Asia’s best performers against the US dollar, said an analyst.
At 9.00am, the local currency stood at 4.0850/0930 against the greenback compared with last Friday’s close of 4.0900/0940.
Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said it was a relatively promising start of the week for the ringgit which was supported by the oil price which rose by five per cent last week.
“Oil had a great week despite concerns about the possible impact of a new wave of lockdowns as Western governments attempt to mitigate the effects of rising coronavirus infections,” he said to Bernama.
He added that the positive sentiment continued to be driven by the recent good news about the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines in development.
It was also boosted by the expectation that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (Opec+) could extend current production cuts by three to six months during its meeting at the end of this month, as recommended by the Opec’s Joint Technical Committee early this week.
However, Innes noted that the vaccine-driven positive medium-term outlook is being offsetted by rising Covid-19 cases around the globe.
The ringgit was traded mixed against other major currencies.
The local note was slightly higher against the Singapore dollar at 3.0426/0497 compared with last Friday’s 3.0434/0479, and rose vis-a-vis the yen to 3.9358/9443 from 3.9399/9445 previously.
It slipped versus the euro to 4.8497/8596 from 4.8495/8559 last Friday and decreased against the British pound to 5.4363/4478 from 5.4295/4360.-Bernama
