KUALA LUMPUR (March 26): 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 9am, 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 on Monday.

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.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/705926