The ringgit opened higher against most major currencies on Wednesday, but was little changed against the US dollar as investors took a cautious approach amid uncertainty over the West Asian conflict.
At 10am, the ringgit was at RM4.0930, down 0.15% since it opened early Wednesday in Asian trading.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said uncertainty over peace talks continued to be a focus as the United States (US) and Iran launched attacks on each other for the 10th consecutive day.
He said US Treasury yields for two-year and 10-year terms rose by five and four basis points to 4.26% and 4.63% respectively, on expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) may raise interest rates.
According to him, the current situation in West Asia is expected to cause traders to remain cautious, thus seeing the ringgit likely to be traded in the range of RM4.08 to RM4.10 throughout the day.
In early trade, the ringgit also strengthened against a group of major currencies. The ringgit rose to 4.6596/6653 against the euro from 4.6682/6727 at Tuesday's close.
The ringgit also strengthened to 2.5046/5078 against the Japanese yen from 2.5123/5148, in addition to rising to 5.4676/4743 against the British pound from 5.4868/4922.
Against regional currencies, the ringgit's performance was mixed.
The ringgit rose to 3.1631/1672 against the Singapore dollar from 3.1682/1716, and strengthened to 12.1139/1352 against the Thai baht from 12.1420/1579.
However, the ringgit was unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 228.4/228.8 and the Philippine peso at 6.62/6.63.
