At 9.15am, the local note rose to 4.2050/2075 versus the greenback from 4.2065/2110 yesterday.

Bank Islam Malaysia chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar index (DXY) was down by 0.09% to 96.46 points, which is expected to support the ringgit today.

“However, sentiments might swing to the weaker side due to the Covid-19 Omicron variant, which could potentially disrupt the global supply chain and lead to higher inflation,” he told Bernama.

Afzanizam said the Omicron spread is causing rising concerns over the potential imposition of more restrictions.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of other major currencies.

It rose vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.6841/6866 from 3.7019/7062 yesterday, gained against the Singapore dollar at 3.0824/0845 from 3.0828/0866, and increased versus the euro to 4.7458/7486 from 4.7508/7559 previously.

The local note, however, fell against the British pound to 5.5763/5796 from 5.5732/5792 at the close yesterday.