KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit remained on an uptrend this morning, opening stronger versus the US dollar as Covid-19 vaccine optimism wins the sentiment race against negative pandemic developments, said Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes.
At 9am, the local currency improved to 4.0260/0310 versus the greenback, from yesterday’s close of 4.0350/0390.
Innes said the quick roll-out of the coronavirus jab in the United Kingdom is giving hope that issues regarding logistical distribution of the vaccine worldwide will be easily overcome, resulting in a sooner-than-expected economic boom.
“The ringgit is a huge beneficiary, as the stars around oil, exports and travel are aligned with the vaccine optimism, and this should clear the runway for the ringgit’s strong head start for 2021.
“The year-end activities are expected to dominate today, so currency trading will turn more transactional rather than speculative,” he told Bernama.
The firmer performance is also supported by higher oil prices. The benchmark Brent crude increased by 0.5% to US$51.34 (RM207.26) per barrel at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly easier against other major currencies.
It decreased against the Singapore dollar to 3.0447/0492 from 3.0441/0481 yesterday, and was lower against the British pound to 5.4931/5011 from 5.4775/4846 previously.
However, it appreciated versus the euro to 4.9540/9618 from 4.9497/9559, and rose slightly against the Japanese yen to 3.9034/9087 from 3.9084/9126. – Bernama, December 31, 2020
