The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar on Thursday, supported by the continued decline in US treasury yields which weighed on the greenback.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.1300, stable against the US dollar since it opened early Thursday in the Asian session.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd Director of Investment Strategy and National Economist Sedek Jantan explained that the market is now turning cautious ahead of key US economic data releases expected next week, following the House of Representatives' approval of the continuing resolution bill.
Meanwhile, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Afzanizam Rashid said the ringgit is currently in the overbought zone.
He expected traders to remain cautious amid uncertainty over the exact timing of the US government reopening, with the local currency expected to trade between RM4.13 to RM4.14 today.
In the opening session, the ringgit opened mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
The ringgit strengthened against the yen to 2.6669/2.6736 from 2.6681/2.6728 at yesterday's close, and also rose against the British pound to 5.4187/5.4319 from 5.4189/5.4281.
However, the local currency weakened slightly against the euro to 4.7857/4.7973 from 4.7801/4.7882 previously.
Against ASEAN regional currencies, the ringgit's performance was mixed. It strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 246.9/247.7 from 247.1/247.7, and remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.98/7.00.
However, the ringgit depreciated slightly against the Thai baht to 12.7564/12.7956 from 12.7068/12.7346, and weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1712/3.1791 from 3.1683/3.1742 yesterday.
