Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said a second round of negotiations between the US and Iran is expected soon to ease tensions, supporting demand for the local currency.

“This comes as the two-week ceasefire will expire next week,” he told Bernama, adding that the latest developments have pushed West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil prices to below US$100 per barrel.

At the time of writing, WTI and Brent crude prices fell 2.33% and 0.64% to US$96.77 and US$98.72 per barrel, respectively.

At 6pm, the local currency rose 235 pips to 3.9500/3.9545 against the greenback from 3.9735/3.9805 at yesterday’s close.

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

It weakened against the British pound to 5.3495/5.3556 from 5.3360/5.3454 and declined versus the euro to 4.6567/4.6620 from 4.6434/4.6516, but strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.4847/2.4877 from 2.4875/2.4920 at Monday’s close.

Meanwhile, the local currency traded higher against Asean currencies.

It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1053/3.1091 from 3.1145/3.1205 and gained versus the Indonesian rupiah to 230.6/231.0 from 232.2/232.8.

The ringgit also strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.3183/12.3397 from 12.3202/12.3503 and edged up versus the Philippine peso to 6.59/6.61 from 6.60/6.62 previously.