The increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve (Fed) at the meeting early this morning made the greenback 'terrorize' again to a new high after moving gloomy this week.
Due to these factors, the ringgit, Malaysia's main currency, continues to decline against the dollar.
At the opening earlier, the ringgit traded lower at 4.5665/4.5700 from 4.5520/4.5550 at yesterday's close.
Observing yesterday's FOMC meeting, Jerome Powell confirmed an increase in interest rates by 75 basis points and made the central bank's overall rate of monetary policy tightening at 3.25%, the highest in 14 years.
Powell also continued to strike a hawkish tone for the future outlook, possibly 4.4% to 4.6% by 2023, further adding a boost to the dollar's surge for today's trading session.
In addition, the drop in oil prices also affects the ringgit.
Analysts commented that oil prices had already fallen before the FOMC and continued to fall again after the announcement of interest rate hikes which made the dollar stronger.
The price of Brent crude oil fell below the level of $90 per barrel while the price of crude palm oil hovered at RM3,800.
