Malaysia’s ringgit rose past 4 to the U.S. dollar for the first time since August on speculation a resurgence in crude will boost the oil exporter’s finances.
The currency appreciated 1.3 percent to 4.0057 a dollar as of 2:04 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur and touched 3.9975, prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg show.
Brent was up 0.4 percent at $41.70 a barrel, the highest for the year.
The ringgit is Southeast Asia’s best-performing currency this year with a more than 7 percent gain. It slumped in 2015 by the most since the Asian financial crisis amid a political scandal and a collapse in oil prices.
Bloomberg
Tue Mar 22 2016
The ringgit is Southeast Asias best-performing currency this year-AFP Photo
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