The ringgit rose to a new five-year high against the US dollar, supported by the depreciation of the US dollar following the decline in the US Dollar Index (DXY).
At 9:48 am, the ringgit opened at 4.0550, strengthening by 0.12% against the US dollar since opening early Wednesday in the Asian session.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid explained that the DXY index declined 0.39% to 97.903 points after the Conference Board reported that the US consumer confidence index fell to 89.1 points from 92.9 points last month.
He also noted that the ringgit recorded its highest closing of 0.39% against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the ringgit is expected to continue its positive momentum this week, driven by the latest United States (US) economic data.
At the opening, the ringgit was traded higher against other major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.5934/6076 from 2.6039/6072 yesterday, rose against the British pound to 5.4718/5015 from 5.4851/4918 and strengthened against the euro to 4.7762/8022 from 4.7901/7960.
The ringgit also traded higher against ASEAN currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1524/1701 from 3.1607/1648 and rose against the Thai baht to 13.0126/0921 from 13.0486/1648.
It also increased against the Indonesian rupiah to 241.2/242.6 from 241.9/242.3 and increased against the Philippine peso to 6.88/6.92 from 6.90/6.91 previously.
