KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 – The ringgit continued the uptrend momentum at opening today as traders trimmed dollar positions on a bearish outlook for US interest rate hikes, dealers said. At 9 am, the ringgit was quoted at 4.0395/0455 versus the US dollar from 4.0565/0625 yesterday.
A dealer said bullish sentiment returned to the ringgit driven by higher oil prices and expectations that the US Federal Reserve would be in no hurry to raise interest rates, giving a boost to regional currencies. Brent, the global crude oil benchmark, rose US$1.15 to US$41.48 per barrel yesterday after earlier reaching the year’s peak of US$41.60.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was mixed against other major currencies. It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.9918/9973 from Thursday’s 2.9878/9940 and weakened against the yen to 3.6421/6492 from 3.6303/6373. The local unit firmed against the British pound to 5.8524/8623 from yesterday’s 5.8004/8098 and rose against the euro to 4.5727/5811 from 4.5794/5874.
