Ringgit rebounds amid improved risk appetite
KUALA LUMPUR : The ringgit rebounded from yesterday's losses to end higher against the US dollar today, as the latest developments on the Iran-Israel war sparked some buying interest in emerging currencies, a dealer said.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said that the Israel-Iran war continued to take centre stage as the US was still weighing its option to participate in the conflict.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt indicated that president Donald Trump will make his decision within the next two weeks.
'The US Dollar Index (DXY) fell 0.22% to 98.691 points,' he told Bernama.
At 6pm, the local currency strengthened to 4.2505/4.2565 versus the greenback from yesterday's close of 4.2590/4.2625.
However, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies at the close.
It slipped versus the British pound to 5.7356/5.7437 from 5.7164/5.7211 at yesterday's close and declined vis-à-vis the euro to 4.9000/4.9069 from 4.8868/4.8908 yesterday, but appreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.9245/2.9289 from 2.9286/2.9312 previously.
The ringgit performed mixed against its Asean peers.
The local currency advanced versus the Indonesian rupiah to 259.2/259.7 from 259.5/259.9 yesterday and rose vis-à-vis the Thai baht to 12.9727/12.9969 from 12.9966/13.0513 previously.
However, it weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.3088/3.3140 from 3.3072/3.3102 yesterday and slid versus the Philippine peso to 7.43/7.45 from 7.41/7.42 at the previous close.
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