KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — The ringgit finished the week firmer against the US dollar today, on improved risk appetite in tandem with the better performance on the equity market.
The greenback appeared to be in an oversold situation and slightly retreated with the US Dollar Index (DXY) on the back of the better mood in the risk-associated universe and a mild corrective downside in US yields across the curve, dealers said.
At 6pm, the local currency rose to 4.2080/2110 versus the US dollar from 4.2240/2250 at Thursday’s close.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said it was a very finicky Asian foreign exchange (FX) market but with risk-sensitive assets improving, there had been a greater appetite to pick up undervalued pockets in the Asian FX markets.
“Interestingly the ringgit has improved as oil prices fell because lower oil prices relieve inflationary pressures. But I think the drop in the overall stock market and interest rates market volatility has helped somewhat.
“There is a better understanding that we might have reached peak Federal Reserve hawkishness which offers the ringgit a bit of breathing room,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local unit rose against the British pound to 5.5394/5434 from 5.5651/5664 on Thursday and gained versus the euro to 4.6305/6338 from 4.6426/6437 yesterday.
The ringgit also appreciated vis-a-vis the yen to 3.4608/4633 from Thursday’s close of 3.4714/4725 and improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.1021/1045 from 3.1107/1119 previously,
— Bernama
