KUALA LUMPUR (March 28): The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar on Monday (March 28), supported by the global economic recovery which was cruising at a reasonable speed, said an analyst.
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At 9am, the local currency was trading at 4.2070/2115 against the greenback from 4.2080/2110 at last Friday’s close.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the Malaysian ringgit staged a decent trend against the US dollar last week although uncertainties over the military conflict in Ukraine persisted.
“Last week, the ringgit appreciated to 4.2095 [against the greenback] due to the positive economic data point.
“From the technical charts, the ringgit seems to be in an oversold position, indicating possibilities that the currency would appreciate in the near term,” he told Bernama.
As such, Mohd Afzanizam said the ringgit could move between 4.19 and 4.20 on Monday.
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According to the report, US jobless claims fell further to 187,000 for the week ended March 19 from 215,000 in the previous week, while the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in major economies continued to hover above the 50-point benchmark, indicating that business sentiments were still positive.
At the opening, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local unit rose against the British pound to 5.5356/5415 from 5.5394/5434 last Friday and gained versus the euro to 4.6151/6200 from 4.6305/6338.
The ringgit also appreciated vis-a-vis the yen to 3.4413/4453 from last Friday’s close at 3.4608/4633 and improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.0950/0987 from 3.1021/1045.-BERNAMA