The ringgit continued its rally to open higher against the US dollar today (Friday) and improved against other major currencies as it was supported by Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) statement on the rating note.
At 9am, the ringgit rose to 4.7370 against the US dollar from 4.7400 at yesterday's close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's Chief Economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the local central bank explicitly stated the value of the ringgit was low.
He also said that he thinks the ringgit will continue to rise throughout the day because the local currency has been oversold for a long time.
Meanwhile, ActivTrades investor Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the US dollar's downward movement came after the release of higher-than-expected initial jobless claims data.
US jobless claims rose to 215,000 compared to the consensus forecast of 209,000 and it was a move that pushed in a negative direction for the dollar.
Another indicator that favors the ringgit against the US dollar is the Chicago US Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in February. It came in lower than expected at 44 compared to the forecast of 48.1.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded higher against a group of major currencies.
The local currency rose against the British pound to 5.9809/9860 from 6.0042/0111 yesterday, strengthened against the euro to 5.1212/1255 from 5.1434/1493, and rose against the Japanese yen to 3.1532/1562 from 3.1532/1562 from 3. Thursday close.
The ringgit also performed better than other Asean currencies.
It rose against the Thai baht to 13.1965/2146 from Thursday's close of 13.2140/2345, rose against the Singapore dollar at 3.5198/5231 against 3.5257/5301 and rose against the Indonesian rupiah/301.3. 301.5/302.0 before.
The ringgit was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 8.43/8.45 from 8.43/8.44 yesterday.
