RINGGIT ENDS MARGINALLY HIGHER AGAINST US DOLLAR ON MILD DEMAND

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Bernama) -- The ringgit closed marginally higher against the US dollar today, buoyed by mild demand, as traders remained cautious while monitoring ongoing economic developments.

At 6 pm, the local note appreciated to 4.2795/2870 versus the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.2840/2910.

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the ringgit remained largely in neutral territory.

“Meanwhile, broader regional sentiment appears to favour stronger Asian currencies (although) the local market has yet to show a clear direction,” he told Bernama. 

He noted that the Korean won saw a sharp rally, driven by speculation that a stronger won — and by extension, a weaker US dollar — may be linked to ongoing United States-South Korea trade discussions.

"Although there has been no official confirmation, market participants are increasingly speculating that the US may be quietly allowing its currency to weaken against Asian currencies," he said.

However, Innes said, the ringgit showed limited response to that development.

At the close, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

It edged up versus the Japanese yen to 2.9326/9379 from 2.9373/9425 at Wednesday’s close, rose vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7939/8023 from 4.8204/8282 yesterday and surged against the British pound to 5.6862/6961 from 5.7191/7285 previously.

The local note was traded mixed against its ASEAN peers.

It climbed versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2950/3010 from 3.3045/3104 yesterday and firmed against the Thai baht to 12.8198/8488 from12.8920/9208.

However, the ringgit slid against the Indonesian rupiah to 258.8/259.4 from 258.6/259.2 at the previous close and eased vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 7.67/7.69 from 7.66/7.68.

-- BERNAMA