The ringgit opened flat against the US dollar on Monday as traders remained cautious amid mixed signals from US Federal Reserve officials on the interest rate outlook.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.2100, up 0.21% against the US dollar since it opened early Monday in Asian trading.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said traders and investors remained divided on whether the Fed would prioritise growth or inflation, creating uncertainty that limited the rise of emerging market currencies, including the ringgit.
He said the US dollar was also gaining momentum, with the US Dollar Index (DXY) trading above the 98-point mark.
Accordingly, the ringgit is expected to trade in the range of RM4.22 to RM4.23 today,
At the opening, the ringgit was lower against a basket of major currencies.
It fell to 2.8265/8301 against the Japanese yen from 2.8171/8206 at Friday's close, fell to 5.6599/6666 against the British pound from 5.6345/6412, and fell to 4.9416/9475 against the euro from 4.9281/9340.
The local note was mostly lower against ASEAN currencies.
It fell to 3.2680/2721 against the Singapore dollar from 3.2630/2671 and fell to 13.0849/1081 against the Thai baht from 13.0587/1069 previously.
However, it was unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 252.1/252.5 and the Philippine peso at 7.25/7.27 from Friday's close.
