The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar this morning, although it is inching closer to its best level in eight years.
The continued weakness of the US dollar and the prospects of a recovering domestic economy have boosted sentiment towards the local currency.
At 10:00 am, the ringgit was trading at 3.9080, down 0.21% against the US dollar since opening early Friday in the Asian session.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid explained that the ringgit is likely to remain strong as investors await the final reading of the fourth quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to be released today.
He also noted that there is growing optimism that the fourth quarter of 2025 growth could exceed the initial estimate of 5.7%.
At the same time, the ringgit is seen creating new ground amid encouraging domestic data and the continued weakness of the US dollar.
At the open, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the British pound to 5.3035/3260 from 5.3220/3309 yesterday, rose against the euro to 4.6224/6420 from 4.6346/6423 and was marginally higher against the Japanese yen to 2.5494/5604 from 2.5499/5543.
The ringgit also traded stronger against its ASEAN peers.
It gained against the Indonesian rupiah to 231.4/232.5 from 231.7/232.2 and gained against the Singapore dollar to 3.0850/0986 from 3.0931/0985.
It also strengthened against the Philippine peso to 6.70/6.73 from 6.71/6.72 and expanded against the Thai baht to 12.5257/5885 from 12.5998/6273 previously.
