At 9am, the local currency appreciated to 4.1825/1850 versus the greenback from Wednesday’s close of 4.1835/1855.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell by 0.18% to 95.81 points despite higher-than-expected retail sales in the US, adding that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is set to hike the benchmark interest rate in March.

“The US January retail sales rose 3.8%, compared to consensus projections of 2% rise, and the FOMC’s meeting minutes in January had clearly signalled the intention to raise the Federal Fund Rate soon.

“However, the FOMC also stated that such decision will be data-dependent,” he added.

Afzanizam expects the ringgit to linger between RM4.18 and RM4.19 today, as the uncertainty over the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains heightened.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against major currencies, except against the euro where it marginally rose to 4.7593/7621 from 4.7596/7618 yesterday.

Against the Singapore dollar, the local note declined to 3.1148/1171 from 3.1123/1140 at the close on Wednesday, slipped to 5.6823/6857 vis-a-vis the British pound from 5.6745/6772 yesterday, and fell to 3.6225/6249 versus the Japanese yen from 3.6174/6191 previously.