The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar on Monday, fuelled by concerns over Washington's plan to impose tariffs on three major trading partners from August 1, 2025.
Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump announced plans to impose a 30 per cent tariff on goods from the European Union and Mexico, and a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian products.
At 10.30am, the ringgit was at 4.2530, stable against the US dollar from its close of 4.2475 at Friday's close last week.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US had used tariffs to gain economic advantage.
He said the US had weaponised its tariff policy instruments to address economic imbalances.
Downside risks to global growth remained high, while the risk of higher inflation, especially in the US, was becoming more pronounced, complicating the Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision on rate cuts.
Mohd Afzanizam added that the ringgit is expected to remain in a narrow range of RM4.24 to RM4.25 amid continued global uncertainty.
At the open, the ringgit was higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.8792/8950 from 2.8893/8929, strengthened against the British pound to 5.7234/7544 from 5.7524/7592, and rose against the euro to 4.9546/9815 from 4.9679/9739 previously.
The local note was also stronger against most Asean currencies, except for the Thai baht.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.3119/3303 from 3.3186/3228, rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 261.4/263.0 from 261.8/262.3, and rose against the Philippine peso to 7.51/7.55 from 7.35/7.55
However, it fell against the Thai baht to 13.0916/1711 from 13.0668/0886 at Friday's close.
