Ringgit rises most in more than nine weeks

SINGAPORE: Malaysia’s ringgit rose the most in more than nine weeks and bonds climbed with stocks after the weakest US jobs numbers in almost six years prompted investors to slash bets for a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase.

The currency rallied 1.2% to 4.0983 per dollar in Kuala Lumpur after crude prices rose above US$50 a barrel, brightening the outlook for Asia’s only major net oil exporter. “The ringgit was oversold in the last month, so short-covering post payrolls is helping the currency,” said Sue Trinh, Hong Kong-based head of Asian foreign-exchange strategy at Royal Bank of Canada.