Ringgit Ends Marginally Higher Versus Greenback

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- The ringgit broke out of its recent range-bound trading to close higher against the US dollar Wednesday on renewed buying interest, supported by the positive performance in crude oil prices. At 6 pm, the local note finished at 3.9520/9560 against the greenback from 3.9540/9590 on Tuesday. A dealer said the ringgit bucked the trend of emerging currencies, which mostly slipped as the dollar rebounded, mainly due to the country's status as an oil producing country. Oil prices remained well supported Wednesday on the back of tightening supply and strong global demand. Towards the closing of Asian trading hour, the benchmark Brent crude futures advanced eight per cent to US$69.23 a barrel from its previous close. “Both Brent and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures hit three-year highs or the highest since December 2014 early this week and have not shown a downward correction signal. “The ringgit may get better and test its next support at 3.90 amid positive oil price outlook and as market will soon shift on trading idea based on Bank Negara Malaysia’s policy normalisation, which is again ringgit positive," he added. The domestic note however traded mixed against a basket of major currencies. It was almost unchanged against the Singapore dollar at 2.9867/9906 from Tuesday’s 2.9864/9909, and advanced against the Japanese yen to 3.5674/5720 from 3.5715/5770 Tuesday. The ringgit eased against the British pound to 5.4506/4577 from 5.4415/4496 and was lower against the euro at 4.8388/8441 from 4.8369/8446. -- BERNAMA