The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar this morning after maintaining a positive position for three consecutive days.
At 9:17am, the ringgit was trading at 3.9060, up 0.36% against the US dollar since opening early Wednesday in the Asian session.
The rise came as investors' attention was focused on the Federal Reserve's (Fed) policy decision and increased risk appetite.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit was showing strong resilience to current pressures, especially as the US dollar struggled to maintain its strengthening momentum amid market volatility.
He also noted that the ringgit was likely to experience further appreciation today although the local currency was expected to remain in a narrow trading range.
According to Mohd Afzanizam, the US Dollar Index (DXY)'s fall below the 100-point mark showed investor concern while awaiting the outcome of today's FOMC meeting.
At the open, the ringgit traded mixed against a basket of currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.4597/2.4745 from 2.4603/2.4632 yesterday, edged up against the British pound to 5.2202/5.2509 from 5.2205/5.2265, but depreciated against the euro to 4.5096/4.5362 from 4.5063/4.5115 previously.
At the same time, the ringgit also traded higher against ASEAN currencies.
It rose against the Philippine peso to 6.53/6.58 from 6.54/6.56 and gained against the Singapore dollar to 3.0621/3.0806 from 3.0635/3.0673 yesterday.
It also strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 229.9/231.3 from 230.3/230.7 and increased against the Thai baht to 12.0800/12.1662 from 12.0957/12.1167 previously.
