China is scheduled to reopen its borders on Sunday, ending three years of lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Expectations of increased tourist arrivals and higher consumption for the Asian region has risen to new heights, which also gave the equities market a boost.

At 6pm, the local note appreciated to 4.3860/4.3915 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.3960/4.4010.

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said that with evidence of the peak of Covid-19 in China, tourist destinations for Chinese travellers like Malaysia are expecting a tourism boost.

“This is boosting local currency sentiment,” he told Bernama.

Innes said the market is also pricing to beat inflation and peak US interest rates, which is helping the ringgit firm up.

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

It rose against the British pound to 5.2781/5.2847 from 5.3011/5.3072 at yesterday’s close and appreciated against the euro to 4.6588/4.6647 from 4.6650/4.6703.

The local currency also strengthened versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2748/3.2794 from 3.2823/3.2863 and improved vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.3104/3.3148 from 3.3694/3.3734 previously.