Ringgit sentiment lifted on ECRL revival

At 9.10 am (0110 gmt), the ringgit stood at 4.0800/0850 against the greenback from 4.0820/0860 at the close on Tuesday.

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit was higher against the US dollar in early trading today on better demand as market sentiment towards the ringgit was lifted by news on the revival of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project.

At 9.04am, the local unit was traded at 4.1070/1150 against the greenback from 4.1120/1170 at Friday's close.

A dealer said the project's revival would provide some impetus to the local currency and lift its momentum in the near-term.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was also traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

It increased against the Singapore dollar to 3.0348/0412 from 3.0367/0406 and strengthened against the Japanese yen to 3.6673/6754 from 3.6744/6798  The ringgit rose against the British pound to 5.3752/3874 from 5.3760/3842 and appreciated against the euro to 4.6417/6516 from 4.6519/6596. - Bernama

Ambank research believes that market appetite for Asian currencies will improve today as the US dollar's momentum fell last Friday.

"That said, we expect the MYR to trade between our support levels of 4.0941 and 4.1042 while our resistance is pinned at 4.1225 and 4.1309," it said in its morning forex note.

It added that events to look out for include Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago CEO Charles Evans' speech later today.