SINGAPORE (April 23): Malaysian ringgit is steady versus dollar, as oil prices offset the higher Treasury yields driving the greenback.
* USD/MYR little changed at 3.8995, with 50-DMA at 3.8976
* “USD/MYR seems to be caught between two opposing narratives at the moment," says Divya Devesh, Asia FX strategist at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore
** “While higher oil prices are supportive for the MYR from a term-of-trade perspective, higher U.S. yields is supporting the broader USD"
** Remains positive on the MYR and would like to fade any near-term MYR weakness
** Sees USD/MYR at 3.75 by end-year
* Malaysia’s ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) named two former Cabinet ministers in its list of election candidates for some of the toughest-to-win constituencies in Kuala Lumpur: Strait Times
* Overseas funds were net buyers of $110.5m in local equities on April 19
* 10-year govt bond yield climbs 2bp to 4.09%