KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 ― The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar today, buoyed by rising buying interest despite the falling crude oil price, said an analyst.

At 9am, the local currency appreciated to 4.4410/4440 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.4545/4570.

The analyst said the ringgit is expected to rebound against the US dollar when Malaysia’s macro fundamentals improve by year-end.

The rebound will also be backed by the inversion of the interest rate gap between Bank Negara Malaysia and the United States Federal Reserve, substantial downward pressure on geopolitical conflicts and improving confidence.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.2392/2419 from 3.2333/2356 at yesterday’s close and depreciated versus the British pound to 5.4216/4252 from 5.3828/3858 previously.

The local currency also fell vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.3446/3471 from 3.3004/3025 on Wednesday and weakened against the euro at 4.5733/5764 from 4.5547/5573 at yesterday’s closing. ― Bernama