The ringgit opened slightly higher on Wednesday ahead of this week's US labor market data, which will be a key focus for members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) when they meet on Sept 16 and 17.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.2280, having remained stable against the US dollar since it opened in early trading on Wednesday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Afzanizam Rashid said the possibility of a 25 basis point cut remained high, but market participants were still nervous given the mixed signals from the data points and the Federal Reserve's (Fed) confidence.
For now, the market will assess the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) with the consensus estimate pegged at 7.39 million jobs in July compared to 7.437 million in June.
He said the ringgit fell 0.13% against the US dollar to RM4.2310 yesterday. Therefore, he expects USDMYR to range between RM4.23 and RM4.25 today.
Meanwhile, the ringgit opened higher against a basket of major currencies.
It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.8437/2.8519 from 2.8451/2.8507 on Tuesday, rose against the British pound to 5.6541/5.6695 from 5.6638/5.6745 and appreciated against the euro to 4.9155/4.9289 from 4.9194/4.9287.
The ringgit was mostly higher against other Asean currencies.
It rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 257.4/258.2 from 257.5/258.1, rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.2776/3.2870 from 3.2808/3.2873, and strengthened against the Philippine peso to 7.34/7.37 from 7.37.35/7.37 yesterday.
However, the local currency fell against the Thai baht to 13.0691/13.1120 from 13.0459/13.0762 yesterday.
