The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar (US) and most other major currencies today, following a slight decline in the US Dollar Index (DXY) following the easing of tensions in the Middle East.
At 10am, the ringgit was at RM4.0580, up 0.29% since it opened early Tuesday in the Asian session.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the DXY edged down to 99.98 points as Iran and Israel showed signs of reducing their attacks on each other, although the development could still change.
Market sentiment is expected to remain cautious ahead of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) release tomorrow.
He added that given the ongoing war and its impact on fuel prices, as well as last week's strong non-farm payrolls (NFP) data, the Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to maintain a tight monetary policy.
The ringgit was mostly traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
It strengthened against the British pound to 5.4219/4372 from 5.4249/4309 and rose against the Japanese yen to 2.5385/5459 from 2.5445/5475, but weakened against the euro to 4.6879/7011 from 4.6867/6919 at yesterday's close.
The local currency was also traded higher against most regional currencies.
The ringgit rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1548/1639 from 3.1577/1614, strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.3639/4049 from 12.3942/4128, rose against the Philippine peso to 6.59/6.61 from 6.60/6.61, and rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 223.5/224.3 from 223.8/224.2 on Monday.
