KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended higher versus the US dollar on continued buying support for the local note.

The local unit closed higher at 3.8860/8920 against 3.9000/9050 last Friday.

Earlier, it opened at 3.8900/8970 and went higher to 3.8770/8820 at 11am.

A dealer said the sentiment was good for the local note as some emerging currencies were still struggling for a new direction.

He said however, the Japanese yen was strengthening following its steady gains, propelling to its strongest level not seen since 2014.

"The ringgit will improve further, especially with the positive outlook released by international rating agency Moody's Investors Service.

"In the 'Malaysia-Inside ASEAN: The View from Malaysia' report, it said that our local note has improved significantly and the currency will show stability against the US dollar over the next 12 months," the dealer said.

Against a basket of major currencies, the ringgit was traded mixed.

It rose against the Singapore dollar to 2.8873/8926 from last Friday's 2.8895/8950 and increased to 4.4265/4349 versus the Euro from 4.4394/4466.

The ringgit, however, fell to 3.5932/5997 against the yen from 3.5796/5852 last week and eased to 5.5170/5263 from 5.5013/5092 versus the British pound. --BERNAMA