The ringgit maintained its excellent performance as it continued to strengthen against the US dollar on Thursday, supported by a statement by US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell who highlighted the uncertainty over the inflationary impact of tariffs.
Opening Thursday morning at 8am, the ringgit recorded an increase to 4.2255/4.2475 against the US dollar, compared to a close of 4.2335/4.2405 on Wednesday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the prospect of a Fed rate cut was still possible due to the increasing downside risks to growth, following weak consumer and business sentiment.
He added that the US Dollar Index (DXY) also recorded a decline of 0.18% to 97.679 points, indicating that the US dollar-ringgit exchange rate is expected to move between 4.22 to 4.23 throughout the day.
However, the ringgit opened lower against a group of other major currencies.
It depreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.9161/2.9315 from 2.9070/2.9120 previously, fell against the British pound to 5.7843/5.8144 from 5.7631/5.7726, and weakened against the euro to 4.9367/4.9624 from 4.9113/4.9194.
Among regional currencies, the ringgit's performance was mixed.
It strengthened against the Philippine peso to 7.45/7.49 from 7.46/7.48, and was little changed against the Indonesian rupiah to 259.2/260.6 from 259.7/260.2.
Meanwhile, the ringgit weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.3092/3.3269 from 3.3061/3.3121, and weakened against the Thai baht to 12.9899/13.0648 from 12.9584/12.9858.
