KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — The ringgit extended yesterday’s gains to close higher versus the US dollar as positive development on the United States-China trade deal resulted in more investors shifting towards riskier assets, a dealer said.

At 6pm, the ringgit was up at 4.0520/0560 against the greenback compared to 4.0610/0660 at Thursday’s close.

The dealer said investors were now looking to data releases around the globe for direction in the near term.

He said Asian stocks and currencies were mixed today despite global investors being given positive signals on the world’s two largest economies.

US retail sales climbed 0.3 per cent in December while jobless claims came in lower than expected at 204,000.

China’s economy grew 6.1 per cent in 2019, meeting the official target range for the year, while its December industrial production and retail sales figures topped estimates, confirming the picture of an economy that has bottomed.

Overall, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against other major currencies.

It went up against the Singapore dollar to 3.0108/0149 from 3.0175/0224 at Thursday’s close, and appreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.6776/6816 versus 3.6911/6967 yesterday.

The local currency also rose against the euro to 4.5083/5139 compared to 4.5288/5356 but declined against the British pound to 5.2895/2963 from 5.3004/3082 previously. — Bernama