At 9.02am, the local currency rose to 4.4485/4.4520 versus the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.4515/4.4550.

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the ongoing global recession concerns and signs of increasing tension between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan’s independence could keep Asian currencies, including the ringgit, grounded.

“While the fall in the US yields is positive for the ringgit, the fall was due to the economic slowdown in the US,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, the local currency fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.2240/3.2270 from Thursday’s close of 3.2192/3.2222 and depreciated versus the Japanese yen to 3.3084/3.113 from 3.2865/3.2893.

It also fell against the euro to 4.5366/4.5401 from 4.5196/4.5232 yesterday and declined versus the British pound to 5.4160/5.4203 from 5.4001/5.4044 previously.