Thailand
Malaysia: Ringgit recovers slightly against US dollar as Omicron fears linger
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — The ringgit managed to recover some grounds on a slight improvement in demand, despite lingering fears over the Covid-19 Omicron variant which is currently spreading both in the country and globally.
At 9.01am, the local note rose slightly to 4.2230/2260 versus the greenback compared with 4.2240/2280 at Monday’s close.
A trader said the US dollar took a hit after Democratic West Virginia senator Joe Manchin’s announced that he will not support Joe Biden administration’s nearly US$2 trillion social spending plan, citing inflation concerns.
The trader also expects the trading of the ringgit to remain cautious as Omicron continued to weigh on risk appetite.
The country’s Covid-19 daily tally stood at 2,589 cases yesterday, falling below the 3,000-mark, but Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin warned that the government is expecting an increase in positive Covid-19 cases at relief centres nationwide due to the flood situation in the country.
Malaysia had reported 11 more Omicron Covid-19 cases recently, bringing the total number of cases to 13.
Meanwhile, at the opening, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of other major currencies.
It rose vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.7181/7211 from 3.7209/7248 on Monday, but depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.0883/0910 from 3.0873/0906 yesterday.
It also fell against the British pound to 5.5744/5783 from 5.5698/5750 previously and decreased versus the euro to 4.7619/7652 from 4.7550/7595 at Monday’s close. — Bernama