The ringgit opened almost unchanged this morning against the US dollar, as investors worried about the still-shifting statement by United States (US) President Donald Trump on the position of Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.4050 against the US dollar, little changed from yesterday's close of 4.3880.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US President's latest statement had sparked anxiety in the global financial markets, as it raised questions about the independence of the country's monetary institution.
He stressed that although Trump has stated that he has no intention of firing Powell, this uncertainty will still affect the direction of the US dollar.
The Dollar Index (DXY) is now slowly approaching the 98-point level.
Afzanizam also added that the US economic growth outlook has become increasingly bleak after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) forecast for 2025 to 1.8% from 2.7% previously.
Meanwhile, the ringgit performed stronger against several major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 3.0711/3.0941 from 3.1206/3.1260 at Monday's close, strengthened against the British pound to 5.8173/5.8605 from 5.8590/5.8683, and rose against the euro to 4.9755/5.0123 from 5.0362/5.0442.
The ringgit also recorded mixed performance against Asean currencies, as it strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.3357/3.3610 from 3.3523/3.3579, and rose against the Thai baht to 13.0397/13.1508 from 13.1930/13.2212.
However, the ringgit was little changed against two currencies, namely the Indonesian rupiah at 259.9/261.9 from 259.9/260.5 previously and the Philippine peso at 7.73/7.79 from 7.73/7.75.
