KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit rebounded against the US dollar today to finish at more than a five-month high amid renewed interest following encouraging tariff talks between Malaysia and the US government.
At 6 pm, the local currency was higher at 4.3615/3665 versus the greenback compared with Friday’s close of 4.3705/3770.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said the ringgit was boosted by growing optimism following the good start to US-Malaysia trade talks recently.
“The Malaysian currency is gaining support after reports that the US-Malaysia trade talks have ‘started well enough’, and this development has put market perception in a very favourable light, boosting sentiment towards the ringgit today,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid opined that the ringgit is likely to continue appreciating as positive developments over the tariff negotiations appear to be forthcoming.
In addition, he said, the special parliamentary session scheduled for May 5 to discuss tariff-related issues suggested that the Malaysian government is proactively managing the current economic challenges.
“This, perhaps, has contributed positively to confidence building, although the degree of uncertainty remains fairly visible,” he added.
At the close, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose versus the Japanese yen to 3.0406/0443 from 3.0431/0481 at Friday’s close and strengthened vis-a-vis the euro to 4.9507/9564 from 4.9596/9670 at the end of last week, but slipped against the British pound to 5.8195/8262 from 5.8128/8214 previously.
Meanwhile, the ringgit performed stronger against its ASEAN peers.
It firmed versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3198/3238 from 3.3228/3280 at Friday’s close and strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.9517/9743 from 13.0195/0450.
The local note also rose vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 7.73/7.74 from 7.77/7.78 on Friday and appreciated against the Indonesian rupiah to 258.7/259.1 from 259.6/260.2
