Ringgit extends gains against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended yesterday's buying momentum to open sharply higher against the US dollar this morning on strong demand for the local unit following bullish 2017 gross domestic demand (GDP) growth announced yesterday, dealers said.
At 9.00am, the ringgit stood at 3.8920/8960 against the greenback from Wednesday's close of 3.9170/9210.
The Malaysian economy expanded 5.9% in 2017 with private sector demand continuing to be the primary driver of growth. The growth pace is not just the fastest in three years, it is also among the top in Asia.
A dealer said interest for ringgit strengthened despite the stronger US dollar on the back of higher-than-expected inflation report.
"The local fundamentals, which remained intact, continued to support demand for ringgit," he told Bernama.
Against a basket of major currencies, the ringgit was traded mostly lower except for Singapore dollar where the local unit rose to 2.9595/9643 from 2.9654/9705 on Wednesday.
The ringgit weakened slightly against the Japanese yen to 3.6449/6493 from yesterday's 3.6441/6488, depreciated versus the British pound to 5.4511/4591 from 5.4325/4400 and fell vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8471/8529 from 4.8383/8444. — Bernama