Bank Negara Malaysia's international reserves rose by US$600mil to US$103.3bil as at July 15, 2019 from two weeks prior.
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit continues its downtrend against the US dollar as cautious investors await tomorrow's release of the gross domestic product (GDP) data, dealers said.
At 9am today, the ringgit was lower at 4.1715/1745 against the greenback compared with 4.1690/1720 during yesterday's close.
A dealer said that despite the expected weakened data, there are still sectors that are expected to thrive despite the slowdown such as manufacturing, hence, the data could lift investors' sentiment.
"With the US-China trade war escalating, investors are looking for an alternative location and if Malaysia could provide an option, it could be good for the country," he said.
On the oil front, he said the price of crude oil is expected to stabilise between US$70 to US$75 per barrel, as the global energy investments have been steady at over $1.8 trillion in 2018, ending three years of declines.
"As an oil producing country, the price stabilisation is a good thing as it does not fluctuates much, which could cause ripple effects to other industries if the price dips too low," he said.
At 9am, the benchmark Brent Crude was at US$71.04 per barrel. Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly higher against other major currencies.
The local note traded slightly higher against the Singapore dollar at 3.0460/0484 from 3.0466/0499 on Tuesday's close but depreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.8061/8099 from 3.8018/8048.
The local currency strengthened vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.3858/3901 from 5.3955/4011 and rose against the euro to 4.6733/6771 from 4.6843/6885 yesterday. - Bernama
The ringgit may have found some relief following positive comments from China and US President Donald Trump over trade negotiations, said Ambank research.
Trump tweeted that the US would strike a trade deal with China "when the time is right" but added that it must be a “great deal for the United States or it just doesn’t make any sense.”
"Having said that, we believe it would provide some breathing space for MYR for the day and it should trade between our support level of 4.1540 and 4.1641 while our resistance is pinned at
4.1816 and 4.1880," said Ambank.
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