KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 — The ringgit ended higher against the US dollar today on a broad weakness of the greenback due to lower US Treasury yields, said an analyst.

At 6pm, the local unit rose to 4.1220/1250 against the US dollar from last Friday’s close of 4.1250/1290.

Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the US Federal Reserve’s plan to taper bond purchases had also weighed on the greenback.

Last Friday, the 10-year US Treasury yield dropped to below 1.6 per cent for the first time since March 11, despite stronger-than-expected US inflation and retail sales readings.

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Meanwhile, Kenanga Research said the ringgit was expected to trade in a tight range this week as lack of market-moving catalysts would likely keep the 10-year US Treasury yield within the 1.5 per cent to 1.6 per cent range and limit further upside in Brent crude oil prices.

“The daily rise in domestic Covid-19 cases could put some pressure on the local note as investor sentiment may turn cautious about the likelihood of a fourth wave of infections,” it said in a research note today.

At the time of writing, Brent crude eased 0.22 per cent to US$66.62 per barrel while Malaysia recorded 2,078 new positive Covid-19 cases today.

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Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against other major currencies.

It weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.0972/1001 from 3.0929/0964 last Friday, and depreciated against the euro to 4.9612/9661 from 4.9405/9465 previously.

The ringgit also fell against the British pound to 5.7292/7350 from 5.6834/6898 and eased versus the yen to 3.8145/8180 from 3.7906/7937. — Bernama