The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar on Monday as investors continued to monitor the ongoing peace talks over the crisis in the West Asia.
At 10:03 am, the ringgit was trading at 3.9250, down 0.18% since it opened early Monday in the Asian session.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said market sentiment was still focused on the war in Iran as the progress of the peace talks was still uncertain following conflicting reports on its progress.
According to him, rising global oil prices were now putting pressure on business profit margins and consumer spending worldwide, potentially slowing global investment and consumption.
As a result, risk appetite among traders is expected to remain cautious.
At the time of writing, the price of Brent crude oil rose 3.55 percent to $104.93 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the US non-farm payrolls report showed an increase of 115,000 in April compared to the consensus expectation of 62,000.
The US labour market remains strong and the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may not be in a hurry to cut interest rates.
Mohd Afzanizam said the ringgit is expected to move in a narrow range as traders also await the announcement of Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2026 this Friday.
He expects the Malaysian economy to continue to maintain a healthy growth trajectory throughout the first three months of the year and may continue until the first half of 2026.
He said this could provide support to the ringgit as the government is seen as proactive in providing an appropriate response to the current economic shock.
In early trade, the ringgit was trading higher against several major world currencies and most ASEAN currencies.
The ringgit strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.4970/5010 from 2.5010/5040 at the close last Friday.
It also rose against the British pound to 5.3248/3329 from 5.3354/3416 and rose against the euro to 4.6095/6166 from 4.6121/6174 previously.
Against regional currencies, the ringgit also strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.0886/0936 from 3.0910/0948 last Friday.
The ringgit also rose against the Thai baht to 12.1322/1579 from 12.1640/1844 and rose slightly against the Indonesian rupiah to 225.3/225.7 from 225.4/225.7.
However, the ringgit was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.46/6.47 compared to last Friday's close.
