KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — The ringgit extended its gains to end higher against the US dollar today after investors retreated from safe haven currencies due to market uncertainties, said an analyst.

At 6pm, the local note strengthened to 4.4820/4860 versus the greenback from yesterday’s closing rate of 4.4925/4965.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd head of economics, market analysis and social finance, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said traders will be keeping a close watch on the United States (US) consumer price index (CPI) data due later today.

He noted that the USD/MYR was already in an oversold position where the ringgit was badly impacted by a hawkish Federal Reserve (Fed) since early February.

“However, the tide seems to have turned when the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) debacle caught everyone by surprise, leading to the anticipation of the softer Fed in the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting next week,” he told Bernama.

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

It slid versus the British pound to 5.4474/4523 from 5.4292/4340 at Monday’s close and depreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8007/8050 from 4.7957/8000, but gained against the Japanese yen to 3.3383/3415 from 3.3727/3763 previously.

On the other hand, the local currency was traded mostly higher against other Asean currencies.

The ringgit appreciated vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 291.20/291.70 from 292.10/292.25 yesterday, climbed versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3254/3286 from 3.3354/3389 and firmed vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 8.13/8.14 compared with 8.17/8.18 previously.

However, it declined against the Thai baht to 12.9830/9999 from 12.9819/9994 on Monday. — Bernama