Ringgit ends marginally higher against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit rebounded from yesterday's losses to close slightly better today after the greenback retreated in light of a slightly lower United States (US) Treasury yields, an analyst said.

At 6 pm, the local currency rose against the greenback to 4.4045/4075 from Wednesday’s close of 4.4050/4065.

The analyst said the US dollar staged a retreat, erasing all of its gains from the day before as investors were worried over a possible recession.

On Wednesday, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is strongly committed to curbing inflation which is running at a 40-year high, while investors were increasingly concerned that aggressive monetary tightening would tip the US economy into a recession.

"Back home, the ringgit is expected to see volatility against its US counterpart as growing fears of a recession make market participants defensive," he added.

Meanwhile, the local currency was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

The ringgit appreciated against the British pound to 5.3722/3758 from Wednesday’s close of 5.3966/3984, strengthened versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1682/1706 from 3.1707/1722 and rose against the euro to 4.6318/6349 from 4.6332/6348 previously.

It, however, depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.2534/2559 from 3.2392/2408 yesterday. - Bernama