The ringgit opened trading on a steady note against the US dollar on Friday morning, as investors remained cautious following the US Fed Chairman's next policy signal, which was a surprise.
At 10.20am, the ringgit was at 4.1910, up 0.10% against the US dollar since it opened early Friday in Asian trading.
According to Bank Muamalat Malaysia chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, market sentiment remained subdued as traders assessed the Fed's next move ahead of the December policy meeting, especially as the US government shutdown limited new economic data.
In addition, there were signs of rapprochement between the US and China following a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
The talks resulted in trade concessions, including a reduction in the average tariff rate on Chinese goods from 57% to 47%, and China's agreement to resume purchases of US soybeans.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was mixed against a basket of major currencies.
It strengthened against the yen to 2.7246/7323 from 2.7266/7300, and also rose against the pound to 5.5182/5334 from 5.5304/5370, although it depreciated slightly against the euro to 4.8527/8660 from 4.8716/8774.
Against ASEAN currencies, the ringgit rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.2260/2354 and was stable against the Philippine peso at 7.12/7.14, but weakened slightly against the Thai baht to 12.9693/13.0129 and was unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 252.0/252.8.
