KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — The ringgit remained strong against the US dollar, supported by higher oil prices amid worries over the crisis in Eastern Europe, analysts said.
At 9.00 am, the local note stood at 4.1930/1965 versus the greenback from Monday’s close of 4.1970/2015 yesterday.
Brent crude remained above US$100 per barrel, trading currently 3.12 per cent higher at US$100.99 per barrel.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar continued to remain a highly sought after currency with the US Dollar Index (DXY) rising 0.1 per cent to 96.716 points.
“The Russian ruble nosedived on Monday while their central bank had to raise the benchmark interest from 9.5 per cent to 20 per cent in a bid to curb the fallout of their currencies following a stiffer sanction imposed by Western countries.
“There seems to be some positive development whereby the two nations, Ukraine and Russia have agreed for ceasefire talks, although this can be too preliminary,” he told Bernama.
As such, Mohd Afzanizam anticipates the ringgit should stay in a narrow margin of between RM4.19 and RM4.20 per US dollar today as development in Ukraine will continue to dictate market sentiments.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was also traded lower against a basket of other major currencies.
Against the Singapore dollar, the local note declined to 3.0915/0943 from 3.0897/0934 at Monday’s close and slipped to 5.6241/6288 vis-a-vis the British pound from 5.6139/6199.
It fell to 3.6379/6412 versus the Japanese yen from 3.6319/6361 and dropped against the euro to 4.6987/7026 from 4.6922/6973 previously.
— Bernama
