Ringgit Jumps 0.21 Pct On Surprise Exports Rebound

By Niam Seet Wei KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 (Bernama) -- The ringgit closed 0.21 per cent higher against the US dollar today, boosted by data showing a surprise exports growth in April 2019. At 6 pm, the ringgit was quoted at 4.1800/1840 against the greenback compared with 4.1890/1920 at last Friday's close. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said in a statement today that April's exports rose 1.1 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM85.2 billion (US$20.38 billion), ending two successive months of y-o-y decline. According to the ministry, it was also the highest export value ever recorded for the month of April. The rebound led to investors regaining confidence and lifted the ringgit's performance, a dealer said. Meanwhile, FXTM market analyst Han Tan believed the better-than-expected exports data showed the diversified nature of Malaysia’s exports and its overall economy. "That could be called upon to help buffer the ringgit's performance," he said in a statement today. However, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. It went down against the Singapore dollar to 3.0489/0522 from Friday's 3.0399/0432, depreciated against the yen to 3.8575/8623 from 3.8512/8544 and weakened versus the pound to 5.2839/2907 from 5.2693/2748. Vis-a-vis the euro, the local unit was flat at 4.6703/6752 against 4.6703/6741 last Friday. -- BERNAMA