Ringgit gains broadly as investors monitor oil prices, US assets amid Israel-Iran military fallout

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — The ringgit opened higher against the United States (US) dollar and a basket of currencies, including Asean currencies today, amid cautious sentiment due to escalating geopolitical risks, said an analyst.

At 8 am, the local note rose to 4.2365/2600 versus the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.2435/2480.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the market was affected by the Israel-Iran military conflict over the weekend.

“Risks of the conflict expanded in scope which underminded US military bases and assets in the Middle East region. Its going to be a risk-off mode in the currencies market,” he told Bernama.

He said the main worry now is how the conflict would translate into higher oil prices, as the Brent crude oil is hovering around US$75.67 per barrel after briefly touched US$78.32 per barrel at the start of the trade.

“Judging from the prevailing oil price condition, it appears the risk-off mode has yet to result in significantly higher crude oil prices,” he added.

At the opening, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

It rose versus the Japanese yen to 2.9300/9467 from 2.9448/9482 at Friday’s close, strengthened against the British pound to 5.7379/7697 from 5.7482/7543 and increased vis-à-vis the euro to 4.8872/9143 from 4.8906/8958 previously.

The ringgit also rose higher versus its Asean counterparts.

It inched up against the Singapore dollar to 3.3020/3206 from 3.3077/3118 at Friday’s close, improved versus the Thai baht to 13.0310/1101 from 13.0807/1018, appreciated vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 259.8/261.4 from 260.2/260.6 and gained against the Philippine peso to 7.54/7.59 from 7.55/7.56. — Bernama