KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — The ringgit recovered some of its losses to end the week on a firmer note against the US dollar today on weaker buying support for the greenback.
At 6pm, the local currency was traded at 4.1390/1430 against the US dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.1445/1475.
Traders said the falling inflation expectations in the United States have lifted risk sentiment and pushed US Treasury yields lower.
“That was enough to spur a sell-off in the US dollar as investors moved positioning once again out of the haven greenback,” OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said in a note.
Besides, the local currency was also supported by the stable oil prices, which saw benchmark Brent crude moved 0.88 per cent higher to trade at US$65.68 per barrel as at the time of writing.
On the local front, the ringgit’s gain was however capped by the cautious sentiment over a possible full lockdown in the country in the effort to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.
Malaysia’s daily newly confirmed Covid-19 cases dropped to 6,493 on Friday from a record high of 6,806 yesterday.
Meanwhile, the local note was traded lower against other major currencies.
The ringgit dipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.1099/1141 from yesterday’s close of 3.1080/1107, and declined vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.8832/8897 from 5.8520/8579 chalked up previously.
The local currency fell against the euro to 5.0595/0656 from 5.0505/0550 on Thursday and eased against the yen to 3.8074/8118 from 3.8030/8068 at yesterday’s close. — Bernama
