Ringgit Climbs Past 4 for First Time Since August

Malaysia’s ringgit rose past 4 to the U.S. dollar for the first time since August on speculation a resurgence in crude will boost the oil exporter’s finances.

The currency appreciated 1.3 percent to 4.0057 a dollar as of 2:04 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur and touched 3.9975, prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg show. Brent was up 0.4 percent at $41.70 a barrel, the highest for the year.

The ringgit is Southeast Asia’s best-performing currency this year with a more than 7 percent gain. It slumped in 2015 by the most since the Asian financial crisis amid a political scandal and a collapse in oil prices.