Ringgit ends marginally higher against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit rebounded from two straight days of losses to end marginally higher against the US dollar today on renewed buying interest, said an analyst.

At 6 pm, the local currency improved to 4.3800/3850 against the greenback from Monday's close of 4.3830/3870.

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The analyst said the expectation that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will likely keep the overnight policy rate (OPR) unchanged at 1.75 per cent at its third monetary policy meeting tomorrow augured well for the ringgit, especially as the market closely monitors the performance of the US dollar.

"The better ringgit performance was also supported by Malaysia's likely stronger-than-expected domestic macroeconomic reading on May 13, especially for Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of 2022," he added.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.1499/1540 from Monday's close of 3.1478/1509, decreased vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.3643/3684 from 3.3407/3440, and weakened versus the euro to 4.6156/6209 from 4.6135/6178 yesterday.

The local note, however, appreciated against the British pound to 5.3909/3971 from 5.3972/4022 previously. - Bernama