The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar this morning after the fourth quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth recorded a better-than-expected growth of 6.3%.
At 9:34am, the ringgit was trading at 3.9020, up 0.08% against the US dollar since opening early Monday in Asian trading.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that the current GDP forecast for 2026 of 4.0% to 4.5% is likely to be revised.
The decision was made to take into account the country's economy remaining resilient amidst external uncertainties.
He also said the situation signals that the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) will be maintained in 2026 as there is no urgent need to stimulate the economy excessively.
According to Mohd Afzanizam, the interest rate gap between the Federal Reserve (Fed) funds rate and the OPR will narrow as the central bank is expected to ease its monetary policy stance this year.
At the opening, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of other major currencies.
It rose against the British pound to 5.3173/3479 from 5.3211/3286 last Friday, rose against the euro to 4.6242/6503 from 4.6325/6390, but depreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.5501/5648 from 2.5435/5474.
The local currency was also traded higher against ASEAN currencies.
It rose against the Thai baht to 12.5273/6200 from 12.5607/5849 and rose slightly against the Singapore dollar to 3.0860/1042 from 3.0904/0950.
It also gained against the Indonesian rupiah to 231.4/232.8 from 231.9/232.4 and rose against the Philippine peso at 6.71/6.76 from 6.73/6.74 previously.
