Bank Negara Malaysia opened trading on Monday with the ringgit opening lower against the US dollar, but outperforming most other major currencies.
At 10:01am, the ringgit was at RM4.1440, down 0.24% since it opened early Monday in Asian trading.
Market sentiment remained cautious as investors continued to monitor geopolitical developments in the Middle East and the US-Iran talks.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit's movements were expected to remain cautious as traders and investors assessed the impact of the US-Iran talks on global markets. Company financing costs
He explained that the flow of millions of barrels of crude oil that continued through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend indicated that the risk of disruptions to crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies may be diminishing even though geopolitical tensions persisted.
At the same time, market attention is also focused on the US personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data, the Federal Reserve's (Fed) core inflation indicator, which is scheduled to be announced on Thursday.
According to him, the ringgit is expected to move sideways against the US dollar due to the still weak market sentiment.
In the energy market, WTI crude oil was trading at $77.69 per barrel, up 2.43 percent, while Brent oil was at $81.60 per barrel, up 1.28 percent from the previous close.
In early trade, the ringgit strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5613/5674 from 2.5636/5671 at last Friday's close.
The ringgit also rose against the British pound to 5.4619/4745 from 5.4709/4782, but depreciated against the euro to 4.7404/7513 from 4.7376/7439.
Against regional currencies, the ringgit strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1992/2071 from 3.2019/2064, and rose against the Thai baht to 12.5503/5850 from 12.5856/6074.
The ringgit was little changed against the Indonesian rupiah at 232.2/232.8 from 232.2/232.5 previously, and remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.80/6.82 from 6.80/6.81
