As at 9am, the local note was quoted at 4.1122/1180 compared with Friday’s close of 4.1100/1150.

AxiCorp chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said sentiments seemed to be less worried about the Malaysian Government Securities (MGS) getting excluded from the FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI) watchlist this month.

“The ringgit should do well as it continues to play catch up with the Chinese renminbi, provided China’s economic recovery remains Covid-19 free.

“Malaysia’s exports to China will likely continue to improve with mainland retail consumption demand catching up to the Chinese industrial engines firing on all cylinders,” he told Bernama.

However, Innes cautioned that although the ringgit remains a favourable currency to buy in the longer term, it may be prone to continuous profit-taking if risk wobbles due to the spread of Covid-19 in Europe and concerns over the stock market concentration in the technology sector.

The ringgit was traded mixed against other major currencies.

It eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.0307/0362 from 3.0299/0347 on Friday but strengthened against the British pound to 5.3267/3353 from 5.3340/3421.

The local currency declined against the euro to 4.8764/8848 from 4.8712/8787 but gained slightly versus the yen to 3.9368/9429 from 3.9398/9450.