KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — The ringgit inch upwards against the US dollar, backed by renewed interest from foreign investors on the prospects of Malaysia’s economy.

At 9am, the ringgit was at 4.1760/1880 against the greenback from 4.1770/1800 at yesterday’s close.

A dealer said the rise in positive sentiment was attributed to a statement by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in London about the upbeat assessment on Malaysia’s economic potential made by investors in the United Kingdom.

The investors according to him, have shown a keen interest in investing in Malaysia.

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“UK has been an important trading and investment partner for Malaysia. This positive sentiment is not only shared by the UK but also the rest of global investors as they would need to look for a safer location to invest due to heightened trade tensions,” he said.

He added that the trade tension between the United States and China has started to leave an impact on various sectors especially technology and manufacturing.

Malaysia, being a neutral ground to do business said Dr Mahathir, could reap benefits from the trade tension between the two superpower.

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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28 and 29, with analysts hoping the meetup, would lead for a truce on the trade war between the two economic powerhouses.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower with other currencies.

It was higher against the pound at 5.2355/2421 compared with 5.2576/2635 at yesterday’s close but slipped versus the euro to 4.6871/6925 from 4.6828/6866.

Vis-a-vis, it weakened against the yen at 3.8471/8518 from 3.8448/8486 yesterday and eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.0471/0506 from 3.0467/0493. — Bernama