KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed higher against the US dollar today, buoyed by improved regional sentiment.
At 6 pm, the local note rose to 4.2060/2130 versus the greenback from last week’s close of 4.2300/2355.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said improving trade sentiment, spurred by the United States-China framework deal and ongoing negotiations with key Asian partners, has helped reduce risk premiums across the region.
"This has prompted renewed investor interest in emerging markets such as Malaysia,” he told Bernama.
Innes noted that with US inflation easing, expectations are rising for more aggressive rate cuts, particularly if a new Federal Reserve chair under the Donald Trump administration adopts a more dovish stance.
"This could place further pressure on the US dollar, and the ringgit’s strength today is broadly in line with regional currency movements,” he added.
At the close, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies and its ASEAN peers.
It appreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.9156/9206 from 2.9359/9399, enhanced versus the British pound to 5.7597/7693 from 5.8141/8217, and gained against the euro to 4.9290/9372 from 4.9597/9661 last week.
The ringgit also advanced vis-à-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.2986/3034 from 3.3192/3240, escalated against the Thai baht to 12.9356/9627 from 13.0254/0488, strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 259.0/259.5 from 260.9/261.4, and rose against the Philippine peso to 7.46/7.48 from 7.47/7.49, previously. - Bernama
