The ringgit opened Tuesday's trade with a modest gain against the US dollar, but momentum remains limited in a cautious market environment.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.0240 against the US dollar, up 0.05% since it opened early Tuesday in the Asian session.
The strengthening came as the US Dollar Index (DXY) remained above 100, driven by safe-haven demand following heightened global geopolitical risks.
Meanwhile, the Bloomberg Asia Dollar Index's slower movement reflected the relative stability of regional currencies, suggesting that pressure on the ringgit was more due to global dollar strength than domestic weakness.
Market sentiment was also influenced by developments in the Middle East, where ongoing conflicts have dented confidence in the prospects for stability.
Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and damage to oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf region are expected to take a long time to recover, supporting expectations that oil prices will remain high in the near term.
Meanwhile, the ringgit opened stronger against a basket of major currencies.
It strengthened against the British pound to 5.3033/3211 from 5.3311/3403 at Monday's close, rose against the Japanese yen to 2.5191/5278 from 2.5237/5282 and rose against the euro to 4.6128/6282 from 4.6294/6374 previously.
The local currency was also mostly traded higher against its Asean peers.
It rose marginally against the Singapore dollar to 3.1160/1267 from yesterday's close of 3.1227/1284, strengthened against the Thai baht at 12.2483/2976 from 12.2558/2831, and rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 236.8/237.7 from 236.9/237.4.
It was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.63/6.65.
