Ringgit climbs on weak US dollar sentiment

Ringgit rallies against most currencies

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit soared against the US dollar in early Friday trade, fuelled by bearish sentiment for the greenback following the release of the US Federal Reserve's minutes for its September meeting.

At 9am, the ringgit was traded at 4.1510/1600 against the US dollar from 4.2330/2380 at 5pm on Thursday.

The US dollar lost ground globally after the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting minutes signalled the central bank's decision to keep the interest rate at near zero at its September meeting.

"This sparked interest for emerging currencies, including the ringgit," the dealer said, adding the improving oil prices also partly aided the upside. 

Meanwhile, the ringgit was also traded broadly higher against other major currencies.

It rose against the Singapore dollar to 2.9595/9676 from 2.9949/9901 on Thursday, and bolstered versus the yen to 3.4606/4696 from 3.5340/5384.

The local unit also appreciated vis-a-vis the pound sterling to 6.3739/3898 from yesterday's 6.4866/4964 and strengthened against the euro to 4.6823/6933 from4.7803/7864 previously. - Bernama