The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar as the US Dollar Index (DXY) remained muted despite the US inflation report coming in higher than expected.
At 10.15am, the ringgit was at 4.4670, having fallen back to its closing level at the end of Wednesday.
The US headline and core Consumer Price Index (CPI) reports rose 3.0% and 3.3% for January, higher than the consensus estimate of 2.9% and 3.1%.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the latest inflation print clearly reinforces the view that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is in no hurry to cut interest rates.
He added that Jerome Powell conveyed such a message in his testimony before the US Congress saying that more needs to be done to achieve the mandate in price stability.
Therefore, the ringgit should remain weak against the US dollar as the Fed will not cut the Fed Funds Rate anytime soon.
Policy uncertainty over import tariffs by President Donald Trump is sure to add to the US dollar's appeal in the near term.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies except the Japanese yen.
The local currency eased against the euro to 4.6422/6495 from 4.6351/6398 and depreciated against the British pound to 5.5620/5708 from 5.5613/5669.
The ringgit traded mixed against Asean currencies.
It rose slightly against the Singapore dollar to 3.3024/3078 from 3.3028/3064 on Wednesday and depreciated against the Thai baht to 13.1301/1603 from 13.0953/1151 previously.
The local currency remained unchanged against both the Indonesian rupiah and the Philippine peso at 272.7/273.4 and 7.68/7.69 respectively.
