The ringgit maintained its upward momentum against the US dollar at the start of trading on Wednesday after breaking through the support level of RM4.14 for the first time since November 2021.
The positive impetus was contributed by better-than-expected local economic data and the recent drop in United States (US) interest rates.
At 9.55am, the ringgit was at 4.1200 which is 0.72% higher against the US dollar than it closed at 4.1550 on Tuesday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's Chief Economist, Dr Afzanizam said the US Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell beyond expectations to 98.7 points and prompted investors to be cautious about future economic prospects.
Therefore, the US Dollar Index (DXY) declined 0.49% to 100,360 points and the ringgit has the potential to remain positive following further interest rate cuts in the United States.
For now, the ringgit is low against major currencies.
It eased against the euro to 4.6427/6550 from 4.6274/6335 at Tuesday's close, eased against the British pound to 5.5704/5852 from 5.5590/5663 and was lower against the Japanese yen to 2.9002/9083 from 2.8796/8836.
It also traded mixed against Asean currencies.
The ringgit strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 273.1/274.0 from 273.5/274.0 and rose against the Philippine peso to 7.37/7.40 from 7.39/7.40 at Tuesday's close.
However, the local currency eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.2348/2437 from 3.2244/2289 and eased to 12.7184/7607 from 12.6426/6640 against the Thai baht.
