The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar on Tuesday amid caution over the outcome of trade talks between China and the United States.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.2300, little changed against the US dollar compared to its close of 4.2290 on Monday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar index (DXY) fell 0.25 per cent to 98.939 points as US-China trade talks progressed as planned with positive indications from US officials on the talks.
He highlighted that data from China showed the country's trade with the United States had declined significantly, with exports and imports falling 34.5 per cent and 18.1 per cent respectively in May.
Mohd Afzanizam noted that USD/MYR remained in a narrow range between RM4.231 and RM4.2458 yesterday amid cautious sentiment among traders and investors, with the same trend expected to continue today.
In early trade, the ringgit was trading higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.9242/9310 from 2.9344/2.9384 on Monday, rose against the British pound to 5.7300/7428 from 5.7392/7466 and rose against the euro to 4.8303/84131 from 4.8303/84131.
The local currency traded mixed against most of its ASEAN peers.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.2876/2952 from 3.2908/2953 but fell against the Thai baht to 12.9463/9846 from 12.9414/9642 on Monday.
It traded almost flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 259.4/260.1 from 259.5/260.0 and was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.57/7.59.
