The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Thursday, as the greenback rebounded from earlier losses following the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision to cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points.
At 9.50am, the ringgit was at 4.1930, down 0.14% against the US dollar from its opening trade on Thursday in the Asian session.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said there may be profit-taking in emerging market currencies, including the ringgit, after the US dollar index rose 0.25 per cent to 96.873 points.
He added that the ringgit appreciated 0.35 per cent to close at RM4.1880 against the US dollar on Wednesday.
USD/MYR is likely to hover between RM4.19 and RM4.20 as the Fed has signaled that its rate cuts will be gradual.
The Fed cut its benchmark interest rate at its September meeting early Thursday morning, the first cut since December 2024 and indicating that further cuts are likely before the end of the year.
At the open, the ringgit was mostly trading lower against a basket of major currencies except the Japanese yen.
It strengthened against the yen at 2.8522/8585 from 2.8607/8636 at Wednesday's close, but weakened to 5.7156/7217 against the British pound from 5.7131/7185 and edged lower against the euro to 4.9589/46938 from 4.9589/46938 previously.
Against Asean currencies, local currencies were mostly lower except for the Thai baht.
It strengthened against the Thai baht at 13.1826/2050 from 13.1892/2081 yesterday.
It fell to 3.2822/2860 against the Singapore dollar from 3.2793/2827, eased to 255.1/255.5 against the Indonesian rupiah from 254.6/255.0 and depreciated against the Philippine peso at 7.37/7.38 from 7.36/7.37 on Friday.
