KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — The ringgit continued to strengthen against the US dollar today, boosted by emerging buying demand and the continued rally in crude oil prices, a dealer said.
At 6pm, the local note rose to 4.1760/1795 versus the greenback compared with 4.1870/1890 at Thursday’s close.
The dealer cited reports stating that investors were evaluating the escalating Russian invasion of Ukraine and the global growth risks from soaring costs of commodities including oil.
Oil prices rebounded on Friday as the disruption of Russian oil exports due to the western sanctions outweighed the prospect of more Iranian supplies of a possible nuclear deal.
Oil prices are set to record the strongest weekly gains since mid-2020, with WTI rising by more than 22 per cent and Brent by 16 per cent.
Back home, the local note was also supported by Bank Negara Malaysia’s decision to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 1.75 per cent during its second Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting for the year.
In a statement on Thursday, the central bank said the overall recovery trajectory remains on track despite the recent moderation in economic activities due to the Omicron-driven Covid-19 resurgence.
At the close, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It had strengthened versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0715/0745 from 3.0816/0833 at the close yesterday and appreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.5558/5604 from 5.6035/6061.
The local currency also went up versus the euro to 4.5994/6033 from 4.6396/6418 on Thursday, but weakened against the yen to 3.6178/6211 from 3.6160/6181 previously.
— Bernama
