KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — The ringgit continued its upward momentum against the US dollar at the close today, buoyed by positive sentiment due to the anticipation of the new Cabinet line-up announcement, said Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim.

At 6pm, the local note rose by 70 basis points to 4.1940/1965 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.2010/2055.

Adam said the stronger confidence towards Malaysia’s administration, along with a lesser probability of the US Federal Reserve giving hints on the timeline of scaling back bond purchases, had lifted the ringgit’s performance.

Meanwhile, the local note was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It rose against the the Singapore dollar to 3.0998/1021 compared to 3.1056/1092 at yesterday’s close, strengthened versus the Japanese yen to 3.8075/8102 from 3.8254/8298, and appreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.7659/7693 from 5.7667/7729 previously.

The local unit, however, weakened versus the euro to 4.9376/9405 from 4.9362/9415 yesterday. — Bernama