By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 -- The ringgit may continue to be pressured downward against the US dollar next week 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.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit fell against the US dollar to 4.0450/0443 versus 4.0380/0430 a week earlier.

The local note was traded mostly higher against other major currencies.

It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.0443/0490 from 3.0489/0534 a week earlier, and strengthened against the Japanese yen to 3.7985/8035 from 3.8315/8366. 

The ringgit rose vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6395/6473 from 5.6488/6566 on Friday last week but was lower against the euro to 4.9054/9127 from 4.8993/9062 previously.

-- BERNAMA