The local currency retreated, giving the US dollar a chance to rally in early trading on Tuesday, supported by strong economic data releases from the United States.
At 10.20am, the ringgit was at 4.2310, down 0.86% against the US dollar from its close of 4.1990 at the end of Monday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said there seemed to be speculation that a potential trade deal would be reached as the US tariff shock was likely to affect US economic growth.
He expected the ringgit to move stronger in today's trade.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) remained below the 100-point mark at 99.862 points despite the better-than-expected US Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Index reading for the services sector.
Meanwhile, market sentiment was also supported by the Special Session of Parliament on US tariffs held yesterday, where the government expressed its readiness to take necessary steps to mitigate the impact of the tariff shock imposed by US President Donald Trump.
The ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.9111/9252 from 2.9192/9225 at yesterday's close, strengthened against the euro to 4.7320/7546 from 4.7629/7680 previously, and rose against the British pound to 5.5595/5860 from 5.5868/5928.
Similarly, the ringgit outperformed its ASEAN peers.
It was higher against the Singapore dollar at 3.2410/2573 from yesterday's close of 3.2644/2682 and rose against the Thai baht to 12.6942/7692 from 12.7497/7747.
The local currency also rose against the Philippine peso to 7.50/7.54 from 7.53/7.54 yesterday and rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 254.1/255.5 from 255.1/255.5.
