THE ringgit finished the week with a rally, surging 1.59% against the greenback as a softer US inflation reading and relaxation of China’s Covid-19 curbs bolstered the local currency.

At 6pm, the local note jumped to 4.6200/6250 against the US dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.6950/6990.

SPI Asset Management MD Stephen Innes said the ringgit’s ascent can continue if China adopts a less hardline position on rising Covid-19 cases there.

“Initial signals are encouraging, with China reducing quarantine times for entering travellers, a significant signal that contradicts prior (reaction) to the Covid-19 waves.

“Investors are growing more sensitive to the reopening news (in China) than the lockdowns, so hope springs eternal that there is finally some room for fine-tuning Covid controls in China,” he told Bernama.

US consumer prices cooled in October, with the consumer price index slowing to 7.7% compared to the 8% anticipated by economists. However, the inflation rate remained at a decades-high level.

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

It reversed against the Singapore dollar to 3.3527/3568 from 3.3459/3490 yesterday and slipped vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.3047/3088 from 3.2048/2077.

The local currency also weakened against the euro to 4.7471/7522 from 4.6781/6821 at yesterday’s close and declined versus the British pound to 5.4322/4381 from 5.3387/3432 previously. — Bernama