KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit little changed against the US dollar in early trade Wednesday amid stronger oil prices as optimism over a potential Covid-19 vaccine continued to outweigh worries about the demand outlook.
At 9.16am, the local currency stood at 4.1190/1230 versus the greenback compared with Monday’s close of 4.1180/1230.
The market was seeing continued drawdown in crude inventories, with the American Petroleum Institute (API) data showing a major draw in crude oil inventories of 5.147 million barrels for the week ending Nov 6.
In the previous week, the API reported a large draw in oil inventories of 8.01 million barrels.
On the other hands, the dollar was lower following a surge in new Covid-19 infections in the US.
Against other major currencies, the ringgit was traded mostly lower except for the Singapore dollar.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0547/0588 from Tuesday’s close of 3.0567/0606 but declined versus the euro to 4.8674/8734 from 4.8613/8684.
The local note dropped vis-a-vis the yen to 3.9150/9199 from 3.9092/9151 and decreased against the British pound to 5.4606/4675 from 5.4551/4634 yesterday.-Bernama