An analyst said this was due to investors shifting interest towards emerging currencies amid concerns over the global economic outlook.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit gained traction against the US dollar to as high as RM4.4425 in the afternoon session but retreated to RM4.4488 later in the day.

“Markets are waiting for comments from US Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman Jerome Powell as traders and investors are seeking market direction.

“There is also data from the ADP Employment Change Report, which is expected to drop to 166,000 in November from 233,000 in the previous month,” he told Bernama today.

Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors’ head of investment research Sedek Jantan said the US ADP jobs report on private hiring for November could serve as a precursor to Friday’s nonfarm payroll report.

“This data could provide insights into the strength of the labour market ahead of the Fed’s policy meeting on Dec 17-18.

“The ISM Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is also due shortly after the US market opens today, and we expect a strong headline reading of 55.5 for November,” he said.

At 6pm, the local currency rose to 4.4505/4.4550 against the US dollar, compared to yesterday’s close of 4.4675/4.4720.

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

It strengthened versus the British pound to 5.6415/5.6472 from 5.6643/5.6700, appreciated against the euro to 4.6735/4.6782 from 4.7003/4.7050 and advanced against the Japanese yen to 2.9546/2.9580 from 2.9825/2.9859 at yesterday’s close.

The local unit traded mostly higher against Asean currencies.

It improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.3057/3.3093 versus 3.3223/3.3261 yesterday, was higher against the Indonesian rupiah to 279.2/279.6 from 280.1/280.5 and went up versus the Thai baht to 12.9563/12.9751 from 12.9854/13.0042 previously.

The ringgit dipped against the Philippine peso to 7.64/7.65 from 7.62/7.63.