KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit opened marginally higher against the US dollar today following positive economic recovery sentiment across the globe, especially in Asia’s emerging market.
At 9am, the ringgit stood at 4.0470/0520 compared with yesterday’s close of 4.0530/0560.
An analyst said the ringgit was pushed up after benchmark Brent Crude recorded an overnight increase following China’s strong rebound in retail output and sales.
“This has set the uptrend course to other emerging markets, including the ringgit, as the US and some parts of Europe are reimposing stricter curfew over the holiday season to curb the spread of Covid-19,” he said.
He added that the currency was further pushed by the encouraging news on the vaccine front by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, which will spur market optimism further next year.
Bloomberg reported that China pulled further ahead of other major economies in November as industrial output and retail sales strengthened, reinforcing expectations of a healthy growth next year.
Industrial production rose 7% in November from a year earlier, while retail sales expanded 5% in the period.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded higher against all other major currencies.
It added slightly against the Singapore dollar to 3.0362/0411 from 3.0369/0396, but slid against the British pound to 5.4388/4459 from 5.3966/4026 at Monday’s close.
The ringgit inched up against the euro to 4.9167/9240 from 4.9272/9321, but declined against the Japanese yen to 3.9030/9086 from 3.8949/8989 previously. – Bernama, December 16, 2020
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