KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — The ringgit ended slightly higher against the US dollar today due to buying interest in line with the equity market’s positive performance, although the greenback remained firm, an analyst said.
At 6pm, the local note stood at 4.1830/1860 versus the greenback from 4.1845/1855 yesterday.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the value of the local currency against the US dollar was fairly steady at 4.1855.
He said, despite the heightened concerns over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the local equities market saw a slight improvement today, while Brent crude continued to remain elevated.
“It is pretty directionless today (for the ringgit) as market participants continue to remain guarded while awaiting more updates,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of other major currencies.
It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.1114/1141 from 3.1065/1077 at the close yesterday, depreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6885/6925 from 5.6826/6839 yesterday and slipped against the euro to 4.7481/7515 from 4.7373/7384 previously.
However, the local currency rose versus the yen to 3.6352/6381 from 3.6444/6456 previously. — Bernama