The ringgit opened almost unchanged against the US dollar on Friday as investors remained out of the market in mixed sentiment ahead of the tabling of Budget 2026 this evening.
At 10.30am, the ringgit was at 4.2200, down 0.14% against the US dollar since it opened early Friday in Asian trading.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the dollar-ringgit pair was expected to remain range-bound following the announcement of Budget 2026 which would provide more clarity on Malaysia's fiscal position going forward.
He added that fiscal consolidation measures had resulted in a lower fiscal deficit of 4.2 per cent of gross domestic product in the first half of 2025 compared to 5.5 per cent in the same period last year, and it appeared that the government was on track to achieve its target of 3.8 per cent this year.
On the external front, Mohd Afzanizam said US economic uncertainty continued to lift the US dollar, supported by unclear signals on the direction of the US Fed interest rates and limited economic data due to the US government shutdown.
At the open, the ringgit was higher against a basket of major currencies.
It improved against the euro to 4.8735/8868 from 4.8988/9044 at Thursday's close, strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.7539/7616 from 2.7625/7653, and strengthened against the British pound to 5.6055/6208.
The ringgit was mixed against ASEAN currencies.
It rose against the Thai baht to 12.8507/8924 from 12.9323/9505 at yesterday's close and rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.2433/2524 from 3.2534/2568 previously.
However, the ringgit was almost unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.23/7.26 from 7.23/7.24 and little changed against the Indonesian rupiah at 254.3/255.1 from 254.3/254.7
