The ringgit rose higher at the opening today amid ongoing geopolitical concerns and despite a firmer US dollar after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to keep interest rates unchanged.
At 10.20am, the ringgit was at 4.2580, down 0.24% against the US dollar from its close of 4.2500 at the end of Wednesday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar was positively higher after the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) unanimously decided to keep the Fed funds rate unchanged at 4.25 to 4.50 per cent.
He added that the Fed was concerned about the risk of higher inflation and they needed to remain vigilant while the Middle East conflict remained unresolved due to the possibility of the United States joining the Israeli-Iran military conflict.
Accordingly, they expected the ringgit to remain weak in the near term as market sentiment remained subdued.
At the open, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.9276/9426 from 2.9322/9359 at Wednesday's close, strengthened against the British pound to 5.6922/7211 from 5.7218/7285, and rose against the euro to 4.8698/8945 from 4.8888/8945 previously.
The local currency also outperformed its Asean counterparts.
It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.3018/3188 from 3.3074/3115 at yesterday's close, and rose to 12.9794/13.0536 from 13.0240/0449 against the Thai baht.
The ringgit rose slightly against the Indonesian rupiah at 260.1/261.5 from 260.5/260.9 yesterday and rose higher at 7.45/7.49 against the Philippine peso from 7.46/7.48 previously.
