At 9am, the local currency stood at 4.1840/1870 versus the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.1835/1865.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid believes the ringgit will remain stable today as the Brent crude oil prices corrected slightly at around US$90 per barrel.

“Market participants could be waiting for Malaysia’s final quarter 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) which will be announced on Friday.

“Our estimates indicate that the GDP for the fourth quarter of 2021 (4Q2021) could come in at 3.1%, following a 4.5% decline in the previous quarter,” he continued.

A possible appreciation of ringgit is quite likely, as the government is expected to announce a further easing of international borders as early as March.

“If that happens, we can expect Malaysia’s economy to be more active, as the tourism industry accounts for about 12.5% of GDP in 2019, a year before the global economy was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“Higher overnight policy rate is quite possible, as this could help improve the value of the ringgit as interest rate differentials with advanced nations remain in our favour,” he added.

As for now, the ringgit is expected to trade at the RM4.18 level.

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

It appreciated slightly against the Singapore dollar to 3.1105/1130 from Tuesday’s close of 3.1106/1131, rose against Japanese yen to 3.6222/6251 from 3.6258/6284, and increased vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6664/6705 from 5.6691/6731.

However, the local unit depreciated versus the euro to 4.7752/7786 from 4.7713/7747 previously.