At 6pm, the ringgit appreciated to 3.9595/3.9630 versus the greenback from 3.9675/3.9715 at yesterday’s close.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit should be in a better position as the country continues to record a current account surplus, while the government remains committed to reducing the fiscal deficit.

He said news on the possible finalisation of negotiations between the US and Iran had resulted in lower crude oil prices, while the US Dollar Index stabilised at around 99 points.

“However, some central banks remain under pressure to adjust interest rates to stem currency depreciation and contain inflationary pressure, especially in economies facing fiscal and current account deficits,” he told Bernama.

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

It strengthened versus the Japanese yen to 2.4906/2.4929 from 2.4942/2.4969 at yesterday’s close but slipped against the euro to 4.6037/4.6078 from 4.5975/4.6022 and slid against the British pound to 5.3220/5.3267 from 5.3089/5.3143 previously.

At the same time, the local currency traded mostly higher against regional peers.

It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.0967/3.0997 from 3.0969/3.1003 at the close on Wednesday, rose against the Thai baht to 12.1304/12.1468 from 12.1341/12.1516 yesterday, edged up against the Indonesian rupiah to 224.1/224.4 from 224.7/225.0 previously, and remained flat against the Philippine peso at 6.43/6.44.