A customer counts her ringgit notes outside a money changer at the central business district in Singapore in this August 25, 2015 file photo. Malaysia's ringgit jumped more than 5 percent to a five-week high on October 7, 2015 on stop-loss dollar selling and higher local stocks. The ringgit, the worst performing Asian currency so far this year, surged as much as 5.2 percent to 4.1600 per dollar, its strongest since Sept 1. REUTERS/Edgar Su/Files

Malaysia: Ringgit reverses recent losses against greenback

  • Jan 26, 2021

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit reversed recent losses to open higher against the US dollar Tuesday despite a cautious trading mode, an analyst said.

At 9 am, the local currency stood at 4.0410/0460 against the greenback from 4.0430/0460 at Monday’s close.

Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the rising global oil prices prompted market participants to stay on the sidelines amid the government warned of growing economic risk.

He said a mixed view as oil prices were supported by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) as Iraq would compensate for breaching its quota in February and March.

“Meanwhile, tech continues to support semiconductors manufacturing in Malaysia, boosting market sentiment in the country,” he told Bernama.

At the press time, Brent crude oil price increased 0.07 per cent to US$55.92 per barrel.

Against other major currencies, the ringgit was also traded higher.

It opened higher against the Singapore dollar at 3.0425/0481 from 3.0456/0485 on Monday and strengthened versus the British pound to 5.5224/5297 from 5.5272/5329.

The local currency rose against the Japanese yen to 3.8934/8990 from 3.8946/8986 and appreciated vis-a-vis the Euro to 4.9033/9110 from 4.9106/9159 previously. – Bernama