KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended slightly better against the US dollar today, driven by higher oil prices and the weakening of the greenback, said an analyst.
At 6 pm, the ringgit stood at 4.0380/0410 against the US dollar from Wednesday’s close of 4.0400/0450.
The analyst said demand for oil was gaining momentum following optimism on the reopening of air travel as Covid-19 vaccination programmes kicked off globally.
“Emerging currencies are also on a positive path driven by the global vaccine movement,” she told Bernama.
At the time of writing, benchmark Brent crude was trading almost 0.5 per cent firmer at US$67.41 per barrel.
On the other hand, she said the US dollar was under pressure on concern over stock market bubble and following US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s recent remark that the central bank would keep its monetary conditions unchanged for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against other major currencies.
It ticked up against the Japanese yen to 3.8076/8108 from 3.8192/8243 on Wednesday but depreciated vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.0663/0697 from 3.0608/0656 previously.
The local currency slightly weakened versus the British pound to 5.7231/7289 from 5.7210/7292 yesterday and eased against the euro to 4.9340/9385 from 4.9134/9203 previously. — Bernama
