At 9 am, the local unit was quoted at 4.0355/0405 versus the US dollar from 4.0490/0540 on Thursday.

The benchmark Brent Crude rose to US$44.06 per barrel this morning.

A dealer said traders were also likely to closely monitor US non-farm payroll data, scheduled to be released later on Friday, as it would indicate the likelihood of interest rates being raised by the US Federal Reserve in the near future.

The ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

It rose against the British pound to 5.2958/3032 from 5.3840/3922 on Thursday and strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.0075/0135 from 3.0129/0188.

The ringgit appreciated against the yen to 3.9841/9910 from 3.9931/9992 and improved against the euro to 4.4923/4983 from 4.5045/5117 yesterday.