KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit further improved as the US dollar continues to depreciate today amid uncertainties of the United States (US) economic growth, said an analyst.
At 6 pm, the local unit rose 120 basis points (bps) to close at 4.0960/1000 against the US dollar from last Friday’s close of 4.1080/1130.
The analyst said the ringgit has also strengthened following Malaysia’s recent issuance of the world’s first sovereign US Dollar Sustainability Sukuk on April 22.
The Malaysian government has successfully priced the sukuk, via the issuance of US$800 million 10-year trust certificates and also issued US$500 million 30-year trust certificates with the allocation well spread globally from Asia to the US.
“With the offering being oversubscribed by 6.4 times, it proves the market’s confidence in the country’s growth and economic recovery amidst the wreaked havoc due to the Covid-19 pandemic,“ he told Bernama.
He said the strong demand also gradually boosted investors’ confidence for the past few days, besides the optimism on the economy which is expected to grow at six per cent to 7.5 per cent in 2021 .
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against other major currencies, except against the euro, falling to 4.9545/9602 from 4.9522/9595 on Friday.
The local note appreciated against the Singapore dollar at 3.0890/0932 from Friday’s 3.0936/0978, improved versus the yen to 3.8017/8058 from 3.8069/8119 and strengthen against the British pound to 5.6992/7056 from 5.7007/7093. — Bernama
