The ringgit extended its upward trend at Tuesday's opening, supported by continued weakness in the US dollar.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.1850, up 0.59% against the US dollar from its close of 4.2060 on Monday.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) fell further to 96.875 as investors awaited key economic data, with the 90-day lag period nearing its end.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said yields on the two- and 10-year US Treasury notes fell by one and five basis points respectively, on growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may ease monetary policy in the second half of this year.
President Trump continued to insist on social media that interest rates should be cut. This reinforced the view that the next Fed chairman may adopt a more dovish stance.
At the open, the ringgit was mixed against major currencies but mostly higher against its ASEAN peers.
It weakened against the Japanese yen to 2.9190/9335 from 2.9156/9206, depreciated against the British pound to 5.7617/7898 from 5.7597/7693, and depreciated against the euro to 4.9457/9698 from 4.9290/9372.
The ringgit also depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.3009/3176 from 3.2986/3034, but appreciated against the Thai baht at 12.9331/13.0059 from 12.9356/9627, strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 258.3/259.7 from 258.3/259.7 and the peso to 7.44/7.49 from 7.46/7.48.
