KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — The ringgit returned to the 4.15 territory against the ringgit at today’s close by surging 0.38 per cent, as market participants continued to react positively to the better-than-expected April 2019 exports data released recently.
At 6pm, the local note finished at 4.1570/1620 against the greenback from 4.1730/1760 at Tuesday’s close, recording the strongest performance since May 10, 2019, when it ended at 4.1570/1600.
The market was closed on June 5-6 in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday.
On Monday, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry announced that April’s exports rose 1.1 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM85.2 billion, ending two successive months of y-o-y decline.
FXTM market analyst Han Tan said the surprises in April 2019’s external trade data had helped set the tone for the ringgit’s strength in the shortened trading week.
The softer US dollar, resulting from rising expectations for the US Federal Reserve to reduce the interest rates this year, also lent support to the ringgit’s performance, he said.
“With the ringgit strengthening against the US dollar below the 4.16 mark, the local note may be able to hang on to recent gains against the greenback, as long as there isn’t another significant ramp-up in risk aversion,” he told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit also traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
It appreciated against the Singaore dollar to 3.0396/0444 from 3.0487/0520 at Tuesday’s close, strengthened versus the yen to 3.8275/8331 from 3.8614/8652.
The local currency was higher at 5.2844/2924 from 5.2851/2910 against the pound, and vis-a-vis the euro, it was better at 4.6787/6860 from 4.6930/6980 previously. — Bernama
