The ringgit continued to strengthen against the US dollar in the opening session today as the Malaysian economy is projected to grow higher than expected to 4.5 percent in the second quarter, indicating that the country's economy remains resilient.
The Malaysian economy is projected to grow by 4.5 percent in the second quarter based on the preliminary estimate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last Friday, slightly outperforming the previous quarter's growth of 4.4 percent.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.2350, up 0.21% against the US dollar from its closing of 4.2410 at the end of last Friday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid expected the ringgit to remain in a narrow range as concerns over the United States (US) tariffs continue to weigh on market sentiment ahead of the August 1 deadline.
The ringgit is therefore expected to range between RM4.24 and RM4.25 today as traders remain cautious.
In the opening session, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It declined against the Japanese yen to 2.8518/8662 from 2.8517/8549, strengthened against the pound to 5.6790/7072 from 5.6999/7060 and rose against the euro to 4.9230/9474 from 4.9336/9388 last Friday.
The local currency also traded higher against most ASEAN currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.2944/3110 from 3.3027/3065, rose against the Thai baht to 13.0608/1337 from 13.3027/3065, rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 259.7/261.1 from 260.2/260.6 and strengthened against the Philippine peso to 7.40/7.44 from 7.41/7.43 previously.
