The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar as rising tensions in the West Asia weakened investors' risk appetite.
At 9:49 am, the ringgit was at 3.9260, down 0.05% against the US dollar since the trading session opened early Friday morning in the Asian session.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid explained that market sentiment has become more cautious as investors are now choosing a risk-averse approach and prefer to keep cash.
Meanwhile, the price of Brent crude oil jumped 9.86% to $101.05 per barrel as geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran continue to be the main focus.
United States (US) President Donald Trump vowed to dismantle the Iranian regime, stating that rising oil costs are secondary to him.
At the same time, Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, will seek to close the Strait of Hormuz as part of the country's defense strategy.
At the open, the ringgit traded higher against other major currencies.
It rose against the euro to 4.5249/5393 from 4.5361/5408, surged against the Japanese yen to 2.4666/4746 from 2.4720/4746 and gained against the British pound to 5.2436/2603 previously.
The ringgit also traded stronger against ASEAN currencies.
It rose against the Thai baht to 12.2090/2554 from 12.3257/3452 and gained against the Philippine peso to 6.61/6.64 from 6.60/6.62.
It also strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.0715/0817 from 3.0786/0820 and was unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 232.5/233.3 from 232.2/232.6 previously.
