The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar, although the decline in US Treasury yields weighed on the currency as the market assessed the Federal Reserve's (Fed) more flexible monetary policy.
At 10:32am, the ringgit opened at 4.0470, down 0.02% against the US dollar since opening early Thursday in the Asian session.
IPPFA Director of Investment Strategy and National Economist Mohd Sedek Jantan explained that the strengthening of the ringgit reflected a weaker dollar tone as US Treasury yields recorded a slight decline.
He also noted that the US dollar's decline from recent highs, especially against the yen, showed that the market was reducing its dollar holdings defensively, rather than shifting completely into risk-aversion mode.
At the opening, the ringgit was trading higher against a basket of currencies.
It rose against the British pound to 5.4361/5.4495 from 5.4446/5.4526, rose against the euro to 4.7104/4.7220 from 4.7146/2.5593, but fell against the Japanese yen to 2.5527/2.5593 from 2.5488/2.5526 yesterday.
The ringgit also traded stronger against its ASEAN peers.
It strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1410/3.1493 from 3.1432/3.1481 and rose against the Thai baht to 12.8437/12.8841 from 12.8714/12.8958.
It also rose slightly against the Indonesian rupiah to 239.8/240.5 from 239.9/240.3 and remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.80/6.82 from 6.81/6.82 previously.
