KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — The ringgit extended yesterday’s gains to end firmer against the US dollar as the greenback retreated earlier gains due to re-emerging concerns over US bond yields, an analyst said.
At 6 pm, the ringgit finished slightly higher against the greenback at 4.1050/1100 compared with 4.1090/1140 at Thursday’s close.
The analyst said the greenback halted its recovery path in response to the retracement in US yields, particularly the 10-year note, to the 1.67 per cent level after climbing as high as 1.75 per cent at some point on Thursday.
Meanwhile, FXTM market analyst Han Tan said Brent futures plummeted almost 7.0 per cent on Thursday as the global oil benchmark hurtled towards its 50-day simple moving average.
“Markets are concerned that inflation rates that are rising too high too fast could in turn crimp global demand for the commodity. Brent futures have now posted a fifth consecutive day of losses, which has shaved off more than 10 percentage points from their gains so far in 2021.
Against other major currencies the ringgit was also traded higher.
It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.0564/0603 from 3.0616/0663 on Thursday and rose against the pound to 5.7150/7228 from 5.7349/7452.
The local unit strengthened vis-a-vis the yen to 3.7712/7762 from 3.7677/7733 and went up against the euro to 4.8813/8884 from 4.9061/9138 yesterday.
— Bernama
