The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar today following a rise in the US Dollar Index (DXY) after President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing higher import tariffs.
At 9.45am, the ringgit was at 4.4850, down 0.79% against the US dollar from its close of 4.4550 last Friday.
The DXY gained momentum to 109.258 points after Trump announced a 25% tariff hike on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff hike on imports from China.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid warned that this marks the beginning of a trade war as affected countries have already started retaliatory measures.
The measures will take effect on Tuesday. This marks the beginning of a trade war as affected countries have already started their retaliatory measures.
Market sentiment has shifted to risk-averse mode given the uncertainty surrounding US inflation and the Federal Reserve (Fed) response.
The Fed is expected to take a cautious stance as inflation could remain high potentially stabilizing the ringgit at current levels while downside risks persist.
Meanwhile, the ringgit showed mixed movements against major currencies.
It rose against the euro to 4.5878/6067 from 4.6247/6299 on Friday and rose against the British pound to 5.5041/5268 from 5.5336/5398. However, it edged lower against the Japanese yen at 2.8819/8942 from 2.8798/8832.
The local currency strengthened against the Singapore dollar at 3.2726/2868 from 3.2854/2896 on Friday and rose against the Thai baht at 13.1535/2187 from 13.2274/2498.
However, it weakened against the Indonesian rupiah at 274.6/275.9 compared to Friday's 273.2/273.6 and depreciated against the Philippine peso to 7.67/7.71 from 7.63/7.64.
