KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar and was mostly firmer against regional peers today amid easing geopolitical tensions in West Asia, boosting sentiment towards the local currency.
At 8 am, the local note appreciated to 4.0505/0615 against the greenback from yesterday's close of 4.0650/0690.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said United States President Donald Trump had indicated that a deal with Iran was close to being finalised, potentially paving the way for the resumption of shipping activities through the Strait of Hormuz.
"Meanwhile, crude oil benchmarks such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent fell by 1.97 per cent and 2.92 per cent to US$85.98 per barrel and US$90.38 per barrel, respectively.
"The US Dollar Index (DXY) also declined by 0.28 per cent to 99.672 points. In addition, US initial jobless claims rose for the third consecutive week to 229,000 last week," he told Bernama.
The local currency traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5293/5364 from 2.5321/5347, but weakened against the British pound to 5.4337/4485 from 5.4325/4378 and slipped versus the euro to 4.6889/7016 from 4.6878/6924 at yesterday's close.
The ringgit was mostly higher against regional peers.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1541/1632 from 3.1556/1589, appreciated versus the Indonesian rupiah to 225.1/225.8 from 225.9/226.2, and strengthened against the Philippine peso to 6.60/6.62 from 6.62/6.63 previously.
However, the local note eased against the Thai baht to 12.3623/4023 from 12.3331/3501 yesterday.
