KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — The ringgit continued to close higher versus the US dollar today in tandem with the 0.1 per cent decline in the US Dollar Index (DXY) to 105.845 points, said an analyst.
At 6pm, the ringgit rose to 4.7840/7870 against the greenback from yesterday’s closing of 4.7910/7950.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said concerns over the Middle East conflict have somewhat receded, judging from the decline in Brent crude oil prices to US$86.90 (RM415) per barrel.
“Having said that, markets are still wary of the geopolitical risks and, above all, the uncertain outlook on the US interest rates,” he told Bernama.
He also said the focus on the local front will be on Malaysia’s advance gross domestic product (GDP) estimate for the first quarter of 2024, which is slated to be released tomorrow.
“Positive surprises should be good for the ringgit the way we see it,” he added.
At the close, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It eased against the euro to 5.1050/1082 from 5.0981/1024 at yesterday’s close, but edged up vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.0980/1002 from 3.0990/1018 and gained versus the British pound to 5.9671/9708 from 5.9720/9770 previously.
The local note was traded mixed against Asean currencies.
It appreciated versus the Thai baht to 13.0053/0188 compared with 13.0194/13.0373 at Wednesday’s close and improved against the Philippine peso to 8.36/8.37 from 8.37/8.39 previously.
However, the ringgit fell vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 295.6/296.0 from 295.3/295.7 yesterday and slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.5176/5201 from 3.5171/5200. — Bernama
