The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar on Monday, driven by lower crude oil prices which continued to support the local currency.
At 10:15 am, the ringgit was at RM4.0680, up 0.42% since it opened early Monday in Asian trading.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil prices were around $69.87 per barrel and $72.46 per barrel respectively.
At the same time, the United States and Iran are expected to continue negotiations that could help stabilize the global energy market.
According to Mohd Afzanizam, shipping activities in the Strait of Hormuz are still operating as usual, indicating that the risk of oil supply disruptions is decreasing.
He expects the US dollar/ringgit currency pair to move within the range of RM4.08 to RM4.10 throughout today's trading.
At the opening of trading, the ringgit also strengthened against most major world currencies.
The ringgit rose against the British pound to 5.3929/4054 from 5.4013/4079 at Friday's close.
The local currency also strengthened against the euro to 4.6526/6634 from 4.6605/6662, besides recording a small increase against the Japanese yen to 2.5258/5318 from 2.5283/5316 previously.
Meanwhile, the ringgit's performance against regional currencies was mixed.
The ringgit strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1560/1639 from 3.1581/1625 on Friday.
Against the Indonesian rupiah, the ringgit was almost unchanged at 227.9/228.6 compared to 227.9/228.3 previously, while against the Philippine peso it remained unchanged at 6.66/6.68 compared to 6.66/6.67.
In addition, the ringgit also rose against the Thai baht to 12.2284/2627 from 12.2445/2643 in previous trade.
