The ringgit closed almost flat against the US dollar yesterday as investors remained cautious amid the ongoing military conflict in the Middle East.
At 10am, the ringgit was unchanged at 4.2450 against the US dollar since it opened in early trading on Wednesday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit-greenback pair continued to trade in a neutral long-term.
He added that despite the heightened geopolitical risks, the impact on the financial markets remained manageable for now. However, market attention remained focused on the situation in the Middle East and closely monitoring the outcome of the US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
At the opening of trading, the ringgit was trading higher against several major currencies.
The local unit rose against the Japanese yen to 2.9133/9276 from 2.9271/9332 at yesterday's close, and rose against the British pound to 5.6885/7161 from 5.7413/7528.
The domestic currency was also steadier against the euro to 4.8638/8873 from 4.8986/9084.
The ringgit also gained against its ASEAN peers.
The domestic unit rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 260.0/261.4 from 260.2/260.8 yesterday, and strengthened against the Philippine peso to 7.47/7.51 from 7.48/7.49.
The local currency strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.2924/3088 from 3.3068/3137 at yesterday's close but weakened against the Thai baht to 12.9875/13.0592 from 13.0114/0443.
