The ringgit opened slightly stronger against the US dollar on Friday as investors remained cautious about ship movements in the Strait of Hormuz following ongoing geopolitical tensions.
At 10:10 am, the ringgit was at RM4.0600, up 0.34% since it opened early Friday in Asian trading.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit also received support from the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) statement yesterday which gave the impression that the Malaysian economy is now in a stronger position.
According to him, the significant increase in exports of electrical and electronic goods showed that Malaysia was benefiting from increased global investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and technology.
This development increased investor confidence, thus supporting the strengthening of the ringgit.
In early trading, the ringgit also strengthened against several major world currencies.
Against the Japanese yen, the ringgit rose to 2.5080/5140 from 2.5091/5120 at the close of trading on Thursday.
Against the British pound, the ringgit strengthened to 5.4618/4745 from 5.4654/4714.
Against the euro, the ringgit also rose to 4.6555/6664 from 4.6581/6633.
Among regional currencies, the ringgit also performed better against the Singapore dollar when it rose to 3.1512/1588 from 3.1518/1558.
The ringgit also strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 224.6/225.2 from 224.8/225.1.
However, the ringgit depreciated slightly against the Thai baht to 12.1978/2325 from 12.1886/2064, while against the Philippine peso, its value was almost unchanged at 6.61/6.63 compared to 6.61/6.62 previously.
