The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar on Tuesday, in line with the strengthening of the Chinese yuan supported by the release of upbeat Chinese economic data for June.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.2530, stable against the US dollar from its close of 4.2505 at the end of Monday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said data from China, including exports, money supply and new loans, reflected the positive impact of recent economic stimulus measures.
He added that the ringgit and the Chinese yuan have a positive correlation of around 80 percent, with the yuan remaining stable against the US dollar.
The ringgit's gains held even as the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose to 98.106 points, as the market reacted to the ongoing uncertainty over US tariffs and President Trump's signals to negotiate.
The ringgit is expected to trade between 4.24 to 4.25 throughout the day.
At the open, the ringgit was higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.8720/8874 from Monday's close of 2.8858/8897, strengthened against the British pound to 5.6987/7289 from 5.7305/7379, and rose against the euro to 4.9512/9775 from 4.9693/9757 previously.
The local currency was also stronger against most ASEAN currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.3093/3271 from 3.3184/3229, rose against the Thai baht to 13.0660/1450 from 13.1213/1439, rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 261.1/262.7 from the peso to 262.7 and rose to 7.49/7.53 from 7.50/7.51.
