The ringgit opened flat before it strengthened significantly amid good second-quarter 2024 Malaysian economic data ahead of expectations and a US interest rate cut forecast for September.
At exactly 10.15am, the ringgit was at 4.3840 against the US dollar from where it closed at 4.4295 on Friday last week.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist, Dr Afzanizam Rashid said this week's focus will be on the Jackson Hole Symposium, which is the annual gathering of global central bank leaders to be held on August 22-24 in Wyoming, US.
In addition, US jobless claims data and economic activity will also be in focus this week as traders await a statement from US Federal Reserve (Fed) chief Jerome Powell.
However, the ringgit is trading lower against a group of major currencies.
It eased against the Japanese yen to 2.9931/2.9972 from 2.9792/2.9833 at last Friday's close, fell against the euro to 4.8835/4.8896 from 4.8680/4.8741 last week and eased against the British pound to 5.7344/5.7416 from 5.7167/5.7238 previously.
At the same time, the local currency traded mixed against Asean currencies, easing against the Singapore dollar to 3.3661/3.3702 from 3.3582/3.3627 last Friday and easing against the Thai baht to 12.8013/12.8242 from 12.6445/12.666.
The ringgit was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.74/7.75 and the Indonesian rupiah at 282.2/282.7 from Friday last week.
