KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — The ringgit ended higher against other major currencies but eased against the United States (US) dollar at Friday's close as investors remained cautious amid the escalating conflict in West Asia, which has heightened concerns over oil supply disruptions.
At 6pm, the local currency eased to 3.9365/9410 against the greenback from Thursday’s close of 3.9240/9280.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid reckons that the conflict in West Asia would likely continue for the time being, leading to concerns about a disruption in oil supplies.
"The US Dollar Index (DXY) has reached 100.197 points as the Brent Crude price climbed to US$101.15 per barrel. Thus, the local currency was weaker against the US dollar by 0.28 per cent to RM3.9370," he told Bernama.
At the time of writing, Brent Crude was 0.34 per cent higher at US$100.80 per barrel.
The ringgit improved against the Japanese yen to 2.4683/4715 from 2.4720/4746 at Thursday’s close, gained against the British pound to 5.2214/2273 from 5.2554/2608, and rose against the euro to 4.5093/5144 from 4.5361/5408.
The local currency also traded higher against most ASEAN currencies.
It was slightly higher against the Singapore dollar at 3.0730/0767 from 3.0786/0820 at Thursday’s close, increased against the Thai baht to 12.1862/2062 from 12.3257/3452, and edged up against the Indonesian rupiah to 232.1/232.5 from 232.2/232.6.
It climbed against the Philippine peso to 6.59/6.60 from 6.60/6.62 previously.
