KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended gains to open higher on Tuesday morning as the US dollar dipped after China's central bank intervened to support the yuan.

At 9 am, the ringgit rose to 4.7140/7225 against the greenback from Monday's close of 4.7205/7270.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that China's central bank intervention has sent a clear message that the People's Bank of China wants to see a stronger yuan.

"As such, the ringgit should remain stable given that it has a strong positive correlation with the yuan," he told Bernama.

China's central bank has set a higher daily fixing on yuan at 7.0996 per dollar versus 7.222 as forecast by analysts. 

At home, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

It depreciated against the euro to  5.1104/1197 from Monday's close of 5.1066/1137 and was also down against the British pound at 5.9590/9697 from 5.9549/9631. It was higher vis-a-vis the Japanese yen at 3.1159/1217 from 3.1185/1230 yesterday.

The ringgit traded mixed against other Asean currencies.

It was firmer versus the Singapore dollar at 3.5041/5106 from 3.5060/5111 but was lower against the Thai baht at 12.9751/13.0025 compared with 12.9627/9866 on Monday.

The local unit barely moved versus the Indonesian rupiah at 298.7/299.0 from 298.7/299.3 and the Philippine peso at 8.37/8.40 compared with 8.37/8.39 previously. - Bernama