The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar on the last day of 2025 after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes were released yesterday.
At 10:32 am, the ringgit opened at 4.0510, down 0.15% against the US dollar since opening early Wednesday in the Asian session.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid warned that easing monetary policy when inflation remains high could undermine the credibility of economic policy, although the FOMC meeting minutes support the US dollar for now.
He also noted that the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose 0.21% to 98.238 points as Federal Reserve (Fed) officials appeared divided on the direction of interest rates.
Some parties supported a more neutral move to avoid a slowdown in the labor market.
At the opening, the ringgit traded higher against other major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.5850/2.5926 from 2.5948/2.5978 yesterday, rose against the euro to 4.7479/4.7614 from 4.7621/4.7674 and strengthened against the British pound to 5.4440/5.4595 from 5.4678/5.4738 previously.
The ringgit was also traded mixed against ASEAN currencies.
It gained against the Singapore dollar to 3.1474/3.1566 from 3.1526/3.1566 and was little changed against the Indonesian rupiah at 241.0/241.8 from 241.2/241.6.
However, it plunged against the Thai baht to 12.8460/12.8924 from 12.8404/12.8620 and was flat against the Philippine peso at 6.87/6.89 from 6.87/6.88 previously.
