The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar on Wednesday amid the US government shutdown and uncertainty over the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.2270, having held steady against the US dollar since it opened early Wednesday in Asian trading.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the US government shutdown had entered its third week with no concrete signs that the impasse would be resolved soon.
The latest indications from Trump on his meeting with Xi next week remain uncertain, suggesting trade tensions are likely to persist.
Meanwhile, the lack of US data due to the government shutdown has led to greater economic uncertainty.
Accordingly, he expected the ringgit to be traded cautiously with the dollar-ringgit expected to range between RM4.22 and RM4.23 today.
At the opening, the ringgit was traded higher against major currencies and Asean currencies.
It rose against the British pound to 5.6447/5.6594 from 5.6592/5.6639, strengthened against the euro to 4.8993/4.9120 from 4.9134/4.9174 and rose against the Japanese yen to 2.7817/2.7885 from 2.7851/2.7875 at Tuesday's close.
Against its Asean peers, the ringgit appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.2523/3.2613 from 3.2598/3.2628 at yesterday's close and rose against the Thai baht to 12.8413/12.8806 from 12.9048/12.9218 previously.
It rose slightly against the Indonesian rupiah to 254.6/255.4 from 254.8/255.2 and rose against the Philippine peso at 7.25/7.27 from 7.26/7.27 previously.
