Ringgit ends first trading day of 2018 stronger
Last updated on 2 January 2018 - 07:35pm
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit continues its positive momentum to end higher against the US dollar on the first trading day this year, as further weakness in the greenback sparked interest in Asian currencies.
Amid the demand for Asian currencies, the local note closed the day at 4.0180/0210 versus the US dollar against 4.0440/0500 recorded on Dec 29.
For the whole of 2017, the dollar index fell more than 9.8%, marking the dollar's worst annual performance since 2003, however, this actually benefited emerging currencies as most of them garnered gains today.
"The drop in the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield towards the end of 2017 was among the factors that weighed on the greenback," a dealer said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit firmed against a basket of major currencies.
It climbed against the Singapore dollar to 3.0245/0281 from 3.0265/0323 last Friday and was unchanged vis-a-vis the yen at 3.5912/5968.
The local unit depreciated against the euro to 4.8493/8596 from 4.8451/8535 and strengthened versus the British pound to 5.4432/4489 from 5.4602/4687 on Friday. — Bernama