KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — The ringgit was slightly higher against the US dollar in the early session today following news of higher-than-expected trade surplus for February 2019.

At 9.06am, the local unit traded at 4.0800/0850 against the greenback from 4.0810/0840 at yesterday's close.

The International Trade and Industry Ministry yesterday announced that Malaysia recorded a trade surplus of RM11.06 billion in February 2019, up by 22.7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) from February 2018.

A dealer said although exports for the month declined 5.3 per cent y-o-y due to subdued industrial activity during the Lunar New Year festivities, imports also posted a surprise drop of 9.4 per cent.

"However, gains in the ringgit were capped by declining oil price,” he added.

The international benchmark Brent futures fell 23 cents to US$69.17 per barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined two cents at US$62.08 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the ringgit also traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0115/0172 from 3.0145/0174 and improved against the Japanese yen to 3.6517/6565 from 3.6624/6661.

The ringgit was higher against the British pound to 5.3370/3444 from 5.3686/3741 and appreciated against the euro to 4.5782/5858 from 4.5809/5859. — Bernama