The Malaysian ringgit opened on Tuesday flat against the USD, but strengthened against other major currencies, reflecting market sentiment that remains cautious ahead of a deadline set by US President Donald Trump regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
At 10:15am, the ringgit was at 4.0350 against the USD, up 0.05% since it opened early Monday in Asian trade.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Chief Economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran offered some hope for a reduction in tensions, but the situation still looked uncertain.
The USD index remained below the 100-point mark at 99.981, while the US ISM services index declined to 54.0 in March from 56.1 in the previous month.
The employment sub-index also fell to 45.2 from 51.8.
The ringgit closed on Monday 0.10 percent higher against the USD, at 4.0282.
In this volatile market situation, he expects the ringgit to trade in a narrow range between 4.02 to 4.04 throughout the day.
In addition, the ringgit opened stronger against a basket of other major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.5200/5274 from 2.5241/5290, rose against the euro to 4.6443/6575 from 4.6483/6570, and strengthened against the British pound to 5.3252/3404 from 5.3305/3404.
Against ASEAN currencies, the ringgit showed mixed performance.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1317/1409 from 3.1346/1407 and rose slightly against the Thai baht to 12.3504/3933 from 12.3831/4138.
However, the ringgit was almost unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 236.2/237.0 and the Philippine peso at 6.70/6.73.
