The ringgit currency maintained its recovery momentum since Wednesday's trading against the US dollar following the support of the easing of geopolitical tensions in the West Asia.
At 11.10 am, the ringgit was trading at 3.9670, up 0.3% since it opened early Thursday in the Asian session.
The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Thursday as market sentiment was influenced by the development of negotiations between the United States and Iran which were seen to be getting closer to reaching an agreement.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said world crude oil prices fell after US President Donald Trump hinted that negotiations between the two countries were in the final stages.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices were reported to have fallen 0.82% to US$107.77 per barrel, while Brent crude plunged 5.46% to US$105.20 per barrel.
The decline sparked hopes that the Strait of Hormuz may reopen soon, thus re-launching global oil, gas and goods trade.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell 0.21% to 99.122 points even though the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting showed that Federal Reserve (Fed) officials are still inclined to maintain tight monetary policy.
The Fed expects US inflation to remain above its 2% target for an extended period, thus opening the way for further interest rate hikes.
In the early trading session, the ringgit traded weaker against several major currencies. The local currency fell against the British pound to 5.3265/3338, the euro to 4.6091/6155 and the Japanese yen to 2.4954/4991.
Against regional currencies, the ringgit performed mixed as it weakened against the Thai baht and Singapore dollar, but strengthened slightly against the Indonesian rupiah and Philippine peso.
