KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended slightly higher against the US dollar today after trading in a narrow range, as market sentiment remained cautious amid heightened global uncertainties.
At 6 pm, the ringgit improved to 4.0820/4.0870 versus the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.0830/4.0875.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit maintained a tight trading range against the US dollar, hovering between RM4.0830 and RM4.0887.
He said the local currency gained some ground during the afternoon session, strengthening to around RM4.0843 against the US dollar from RM4.0888 during the morning session.
"Higher global bond yields were the main factors affecting market sentiment this week, while higher crude oil prices along with strong US data points have led to greater demand for the US dollar.
"Still, the ringgit was fairly resilient despite heightened uncertainties,” he told Bernama.
The ringgit traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.
The local note rose against the euro to 4.5927/5983 from 4.6015/6066 at Thursday’s close, but it depreciated versus the British pound to 5.3927/3993 from 5.3896/3955 yesterday and weakened vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.5906/5941 from 2.5781/5811 previously.
Meanwhile, the ringgit eased against ASEAN currencies.
It slipped versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1908/1952 from 3.1856/1894 at Thursday’s close and went down against the Thai baht to 12.1579/1778 from 12.1111/1294 yesterday.
The local currency also decreased vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 6.52/6.54 from 6.50/6.51 and dropped against the Indonesian rupiah to 228.2/228.6 from 227.2/227.6 previously. - Bernama
