KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed higher versus the US dollar today, tracking the performance of regional peers ahead of the Chinese New Year break, dealers said.
At 6 pm, the ringgit was quoted at 4.0590/0650 against the greenback compared with 4.0680/0710 on Thursday.
AxiCorp chief market strategist Stephen Innes said the ringgit strengthened today, lifted by the inflows into the bond market.
“Bank Negara Malaysia’s pre-emptive overnight policy rate cut has triggered strong demand for the bond market duration, and those market inflows have been supportive of the ringgit,” he said.
On another note, the World Health Organisation’s declaration on Thursday that the coronavirus outbreak was an emergency for China but not yet of international concern had also offered some comfort to investors, thus calming the Asian foreign exchange market, he added.
The ringgit was also traded higher against other major currencies.
It rose to 3.0024/0080 against the Singapore dollar from 3.0138/0171 on Thursday, and appreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.7038/7103 versus 3.7130/7171 yesterday.
The local currency also advanced against the euro to 4.4787/4869 compared with 4.5086/5135 yesterday and firmed up against the British pound to 5.3140/3235 from 5.3413/3469 previously. – Jan 24, 2020, Bernama
