The ringgit opened higher in early trading on Monday amid weak sentiment as market participants looked at the stance of the Federal Reserve (Fed) which may take longer to cut interest rates.
At 10.25am, the ringgit fell significantly at 4.2640 which is 1.16% lost against the United States (US) dollar from 4.2155 at the close of last Friday's session.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist, Dr Afzanizam said the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose to 102,572 points. Likewise, the two-year US Treasury note jumped 22 basis points to 3.92%.
He said investors are reassessing their stance on the US Fed's next move given the high probability that a 'soft landing' scenario will occur.
He also said that the latest data is more in favor of the USD, especially the US NFP jobs report last Friday which was positive beyond estimates and the ringgit is expected to continue to weaken during today's trading.
Meanwhile, the ringgit is trading higher than major currencies.
The local note strengthened against the euro to 4.6239/6337 from last Friday's close of 4.6484/6578. It was better against the Japanese yen at 2.8329/8391 from 2.8779/8839 previously and it rose against the British pound to 5.5309/5427 from 5.5505/5617.
The local currency showed a mixed performance against Asean currencies.
It was higher against the Thai baht at 12.6406/6797 from 12.7549/7861 but down against the Singapore dollar at 3.2301/2373 from 3.2489/2557 at last Friday's close.
The ringgit was unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 272.1/272.9 since last Friday and unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.49/7.51 from yesterday's close of 7.48/7.50.
