KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — The ringgit jumped to its highest level in almost six months, against the United States dollar at the close today, touching the 4.36 level amid concerns over ongoing tariff tensions.
At 6pm, the ringgit surged to 4.3670/3735 against the greenback, compared to Friday’s close of 4.4100/4175.
Previously on October 28, 2024, the ringgit hit a high of 4.3605/3640 against the greenback.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit continues to gain strength against the greenback amidst heightened uncertainties over tariff issues.
“It appears that inconsistencies in policymaking as well as antagonising their allies have led to weak sentiments over US assets.
“In some sense, the current predicament has resulted in the acceleration in the de-dollarisation trend as reflected in the decline in foreign holdings of US treasury bonds and subsequently lower US treasury yields,” he told Bernama.
The ringgit could gain firmer footing in the near term with the immediate support level of RM4.36, he added.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It weakened against the Japanese yen to 3.1046/1095 from 3.0971/1028 at Friday’s close and eased against the euro to 5.0408/0483 from 5.0133/0218, but was slightly higher against the British pound to 5.8513/8601 from 5.8516/8616.
The local note performed mostly higher against Asean currencies.
The ringgit firmed against the Singapore dollar to 3.3515/3570 from 3.3562/3601 at Friday’s close, appreciated against the Indonesian rupiah to 259.8/260.3 from the previous 261.2/261.8, and traded stronger against the Philippine peso at 7.71/7.73 versus 7.77/7.79.
However, it eased against the Thai baht to 13.1914/2170 from 13.1815/2154 at Friday’s close.
— Bernama
