KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — The ringgit rebounded from yesterday’s losses to end higher against the US dollar today, driven by renewed demand despite the slide in crude oil prices, an analyst said.
At 6pm, the local note rose by 170 basis points to close at 4.2190/2220 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.2360/2410.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the local note saw some appreciation against the greenback whereby the dollar index was lower on Friday as investors were somewhat concerned about United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman Jerome Powell’s statement on the labour market.
“The US labour market may require some time before recovering in order for the Fed to consider tightening monetary policies,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, at the close, the local note was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
The ringgit rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1189/1216 from 3.1285/1324 at yesterday’s close and strengthened against the British pound to 5.8935/8977 from 5.9092/9162 previously.
The local unit appreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 5.0181/0216 from 5.0294/0353, and climbed against the Japanese yen to 3.8502/8529 from 3.8562/8611 yesterday. — Bernama
