The ringgit continued to strengthen against the United States (US) dollar at the opening of trading on Thursday, supported by weaker-than-expected US economic data.
At 10:05 am, the ringgit was at RM4.0710, up 0.12% since it opened early in Asian trading on Thursday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell 0.43% to 100.485 after the US Producer Price Index (PPI) unexpectedly declined 0.3% month-on-month in June, compared to market expectations of no change.
According to him, the decline was largely driven by the fall in energy prices in June after the ceasefire between the United States and Iran was implemented.
In addition, testimony by Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Kevin Warsh before the Senate Banking Committee indicated that the Fed may not be in a hurry to raise interest rates anytime soon.
He said the situation was expected to support emerging market currencies, including the ringgit, as both the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and PPI showed a decline in June due to lower oil prices.
Dr Mohd Afzanizam expected the ringgit to trade in the range of 4.06 to 4.08 against the US dollar today.
At the opening session, the ringgit was mostly traded weaker against its major global currency basket.
The ringgit, however, strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5083/5119 from 2.5103/5132 at Wednesday's close.
However, the ringgit depreciated against the British pound to 5.5039/5113 from 5.4578/4638, while against the euro it also weakened to 4.6631/6694 from 4.6536/6587.
Against regional currencies, the ringgit was mostly traded higher.
The ringgit rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 225.0/225.4 from 225.5/225.9, strengthened against the Philippine peso to 6.59/6.60 from 6.61/6.62, and rose against the Thai baht to 12.1055/1280 from 12.1198/1371.
However, the ringgit weakened slightly against the Singapore dollar to 3.1552/1600 from 3.1546/1538 at the close of trading on Wednesday.
