Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar-ringgit is currently hovering at RM4.0305, with the ringgit gaining 0.23% against the greenback while the US Dollar Index (DXY) is oscillating below 100 points.

“The ringgit seems to have gained some ground against the US dollar as there are signs of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which eases tension in the market,” he told Bernama.

Iranian state news agency Irna reported that Iran and Oman are drafting a protocol to “monitor transit” through the Strait of Hormuz, which aims to facilitate and ensure safe passage, as well as to provide better services to ships that pass through.

At 6pm, the local currency strengthened to 4.0295/4.0350 against the greenback from 4.0365/4.0430 recorded at yesterday’s close.

At the close, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It traded better versus the Japanese yen at 2.5247/2.5285 from 2.5295/2.5337 at the close on Thursday, and improved vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6513/4.6576 from 4.6517/4.6592 yesterday, but fell against the British pound to 5.3326/5.3399 from 5.3278/5.3364 previously.

At the same time, the local currency traded mixed against Asean currencies.

It was marginally higher versus the Singapore dollar at 3.1341/3.1389 from 3.1364/3.1417 at Thursday’s close but edged down against the Philippine peso to 6.68/6.71 from 6.66/6.68 yesterday.

It also fell versus the Indonesian rupiah to 237.4/237.9 from 236.9/237.3 on Thursday and slipped to 12.3585/12.3841 against the Thai baht from 12.3180/12.3447 previously.

The regional currencies were also weaker against the US dollar.