The ringgit opened flat against the US dollar today as mixed signals from President Trump hinted that certain countries may receive tariff relief when the reciprocal tariffs take effect on April 2, raising risk appetite.
At 9.50am, the ringgit was at 4.4370, down 0.16% against the US dollar from its close of 4.4325 at the end of Monday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the latest indications were that the tariff move would be more misguided and made the global economic impact look manageable.
He said riskier assets such as equities rebounded strongly with the S&P 500 up more than one per cent, while the two- and 10-year US Treasury yields rose nine basis points to 4.03% and 4.33% respectively.
Meanwhile, Bank Negara Malaysia maintained its 2025 gross domestic product growth and inflation forecasts at 4.5% to 5.5% and 2.0% to 3.5% respectively, signaling a consistent assessment of the economy despite external challenges.
The ringgit rebounded against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the euro to 4.7880/8053 from 4.8039/8088 at yesterday's close, strengthened against the British pound to 5.7277/7484 from 5.7441/7499, and rose against the Japanese yen to 2.9395/9505 from 2.9631/9663.
The local note also traded higher against Asean currencies.
The ringgit rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.3103/3225 from 3.3148/3184, rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 267.5/268.6 from 267.5/267.9, and strengthened against the Thai baht to 13.0433/908 from 13.0849/1043.
However, it remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.73/7.76 from 7.73/7.74
