KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 ― The ringgit snapped its three-day losing streak against the US dollar to close higher today, thanks to improving market sentiment as worries over capital outflow ease amid rising crude oil prices, dealers said.

At 6pm, the ringgit rose to 4.1300/1350 against the US dollar from 4.1400/1450 at yesterday's close.

Recent news that Malaysia may be dropped from the FTSE World Government Bond Index and Norway sovereign wealth fund’s holdings had caused a sell-off in the foreign exchange market, sending the ringgit to a nearly three-month low on Wednesday.

“The ringgit has been depreciating much and now bargain-hunting emerges to take advantage (of this). Investors’ focus are now more towards fundamentals,” a dealer told Bernama.

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 In parallel, FXTM Market Analyst Han Tan also said the ringgit’s recent depreciation against the US dollar was transitory, as evidenced by today’s rebound, supported by Malaysia’s robust economic fundamentals.

He said Malaysia’s March inflation data, which is due next week, would show whether prices had rebounded from the deflation recorded in the first two months of the year, where a meaningful return to inflationary territory could offset the ringgit’s weakness against the US dollar.

“Overall, we expect Malaysia’s price pressures to remain manageable throughout 2019, allowing domestic consumption to continue driving growth,” he said in a commentary.

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Meanwhile, the ringgit was also traded higher against other major currencies.

It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0473/0514 from 3.0535/0584 yesterday and strengthened versus the Japanese yen to 3.6898/6949 from 3.6991/6039.

The local currency appreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.3707/3792 from yesterday’s 5.3853/3935 and advanced against the euro to 4.6446/6506 from 4.6579/6640 previously. ― Bernama