KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — Malaysia’s ringgit gained the most since September 2013 and the benchmark stock index headed for the highest close in two months as a rally in the price of oil eased concern the nation’s finances will deteriorate.

The currency climbed 2.1 per cent from Jan. 30 to 3.5555 a dollar as of 11:48 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur as markets reopened after holidays on Monday and yesterday, according to prices from local banks. Brent crude jumped 5.8 per cent yesterday and has increased almost 19 per cent in five days to US$57.40 (RM203.90) a barrel.

The price of the commodity had fallen to as low as US$45.19 on Jan. 13, the least since 2009, causing the government to revise its 2015 fiscal deficit target to 3.2 per cent of gross domestic product from 3 per cent. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has reduced this year’s growth forecast to 4.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent from as much as 6 per cent. Malaysia is Asia’s only major net exporter of oil.

“Brent is still up from its low in January and the ringgit’s rise is catch-up to the move as the Malaysian markets were closed in the past two days,” said Nizam Idris, Singapore- based head of foreign-exchange and fixed-income strategy at Macquarie Bank Ltd. “The crude oil price increase also gives the perfect excuse to people who are long dollar-ringgit to sell.”

One-month implied volatility in the ringgit dropped 20 basis points to 9.98 per cent, adding to yesterday’s 60 basis-point slide, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

Stocks climb

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index of shares climbed 1.3 per cent and headed for its highest close since November. SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd., the nation’s biggest oilfield services contractor by market value, surged 6.7 per cent, the most this year. Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd. rose 4.9 per cent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index of US equities advanced 1.5 per cent yesterday.

“Markets are taking their cue from the US market and oil prices,” said Ang Kok Heng,the Kuala Lumpur-based chief investment officer of Phillip Capital Management Sdn., which manages US$428 million. “The oil rebound benefits Malaysia. There is less pressure on the ringgit.”

A report tomorrow may show Malaysia’s exports rose 0.9 per cent in December from a year earlier, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Overseas sales increased 2.1 per cent the previous month.

Global funds cut holdings of Malaysian debt, both government and corporate, by 4.5 per cent to RM225.9 billion in December, adding to the 5.8 per cent outflow in November, according to the central bank’s website.

Three-year sovereign bonds rose, with the yield falling two basis points to 3.51 per cent, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The yield on 10-year notes dropped two basis points, or 0.02 per centage point, to 3.78 per cent. — Bloomberg