The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar for the fifth consecutive session as traders reacted to the ongoing uncertainty in US tariff policy.
At 9.20am, the ringgit was at 4.4300, down 0.11% against the US dollar from its close of 4.4270 at the end of Thursday.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive action suspending tariffs on many Mexican and Canadian products under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) for almost a month, which immediately eased the trade conflict.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the Monetary Policy Committee of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) appeared cautious about the global economy but seemed inclined to maintain the overnight policy rate (OPR) in the near term.
From a technical perspective, USD/MYR is in neutral territory, indicating that the ringgit could trade in a narrow range today, likely to fluctuate around RM4.42 to RM4.43.
Meanwhile, the ringgit also strengthened against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.9833/9922 from 2.9940/9969, the British pound to 5.6919/7087 from 5.6964/7015, and the euro to 4.7662/7803 from 4.7773/7816.
Among Asean currencies, local currencies were mostly traded higher.
It improved against the Indonesian rupiah to 270.4/271.3 from 270.6/271.0, rose against the Thai baht to 13.0880/1424 from 13.0939/1124, and strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.3147/3247 from 3.3186/3218.
However, it remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.71/7.73.
