KUALA LUMPUR (June 2): The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar today, as oil price continues to strengthen.
At 9.02am, the local currency rose to 4.1250/1257 against the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.1265/1283.
ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the greenback was trading flat against the local note despite positive data from the ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the US.
“The dollar managed to gain only 0.05 per cent against the Malaysian currency,” he said.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday to the the highest level in more than two and a half years, with Brent topping $71 per barrel.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) made a decision in a meeting yesterday to keep the plans to boost July oil production by 840,000 barrels per day.
At the time of writing, the benchmark Brent crude oil advanced 0.63 per cent to US$70.69 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the local note also traded higher at opening against a basket of major currencies.
Against the Singapore dollar, the ringgit increased to 3.1196/1204 from yesterday’s close of 3.1229/1255 and rose slightly against the yen to 3.7632/7639 from 3.7638/7789
The ringgit also strengthened vis-a-vis the euro to 5.0416/0423 from 5.0491/0514 and gained against the British pound to 5.8401/8421 from 5.8583/8621.- BERNAMA