Positive Sentiment Drives Malaysian Ringgit To 7-Week High Against US Dollar

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian ringgit soared to a seven-week high against the US dollar on Friday, bolstered by continuous buying momentum amid positive sentiment. At 5 pm, the ringgit was quoted at 4.1310/1400 against the greenback from 4.2330/2380 on Wednesday, and after moving as high as 4.2160/2250. The local unit was traded at 4.1040/1090 on Aug 19, 2015. A dealer said rising crude oil prices sparked brighter prospects for the economy of Asia's only major oil exporter. The upside was also aided by the weakening of the US dollar after the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting minutes signalled the decision to keep the interest rate at near zero at its September meeting. In line with the uptrend, the ringgit was also traded broadly higher against other major currencies. It rose against the Singapore dollar to 2.9587/9656 from 2.9949/9901 on Thursday, and sharply higher versus the yen at 3.4356/4445 from 3.5340/5384. The domestic currency strengthened vis-a-vis the pound sterling to 6.3448/3595 from Thursday's 6.4866/4964, and improved against the euro to 4.6775/6886 from 4.7803/7864 previously. --BERNAMA