RINGGIT

THE ringgit may continue to be pressured downward against the US dollar if the US Treasury yields remain elevated or increase further.

OANDA Asia Pacific senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said investors were shifting their focus to bonds on the rise in yields.

“In terms of the bigger picture, the ringgit-US dollar pair remains comfortably ensconced within its three-month range of between 4.0000 and 4.1000.

“The ringgit may rise towards the upper end of that band next week, but concerns over an extended period of weakness are overdone unless the ringgit-US dollar traces out a weekly close above 4.1000, or if China starts rapidly weakening the Chinese yuan at its daily fixing,” he told Bernama.

According to Halley, as Malaysia is dominated by heavily cyclical sectors and industries, it should outperform in 2021 as the global recovery accelerates.