The ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar on Friday, buoyed by growing expectations of an imminent US interest rate cut and broader risk aversion in global markets.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.2230, up 0.05% against the US dollar since it opened early Friday in Asian trading.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the market was in risk-off mode, with gold prices hitting new highs and US Treasury yields declining.
This development was compounded by the ongoing US government shutdown, which has delayed the release of key economic data needed to make informed monetary policy decisions.
He added that the US Dollar Index fell 0.46% to 98.336, further weighing on the US dollar.
With the US Fed expected to cut interest rates at the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting later this month, the ringgit could see further gains.
In addition, the latest issues surrounding the US lender require closer scrutiny to assess how they might unfold and affect the credit market. Again, such news could be dollar-negative.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against major currencies, with the exception of the British pound which strengthened against the pound to 5.6663/5.6898 from 5.6792/5.6826 at Thursday's close.
It depreciated against the euro to 4.9306/4.9511 from 4.9284/4.9313 and depreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.8073/2.8191 from 2.7943/2.7961 previously.
The ringgit was also positive against most Asean currencies.
It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.2601/3.2739 from 3.2630/3.2651, rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 254.2/255.4 from 254.9/255.2, rose against the Philippine peso to 7.25/7.28 from 7.27/7.28 and rose against the Thai baht to 12.9623/13.0229 from 12.9933/13.0151.
