KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against the United States (US) dollar on Monday as investors monitored ongoing peace talks over the crisis in West Asia, analysts said.
At 8am, the local currency rose to 3.9170/9230 against the US dollar from 3.9185/9230 at the close last Friday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said market sentiment continued to be focused on the war in Iran, with ongoing peace talks seen as difficult to achieve amid inconsistent reports on the progress of the talks.
“High oil prices are affecting business margins and consumer spending worldwide, leading to the possibility of investment and consumer spending being dampened.
“Therefore, traders’ willingness to take risks is expected to remain cautious,” he told Bernama .
So far, the price of Brent crude oil has increased by 3.55 percent to US$104.93 per barrel.
Mohd Afzanizam said the US non-farm payrolls report rose to 115,000 in April compared to the consensus estimate of 62,000, indicating that the US labour market remains resilient and the US Federal Reserve may not be in a hurry to lower interest rates.
Therefore, he said the ringgit is expected to trade in a small range and traders are also anticipating the announcement of Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2026 this Friday.
“The Malaysian economy is seen to continue to maintain a good growth trajectory in the first three months of this year and possibly in the first half of 2026.”
“This expectation could provide support to the ringgit as the government remains proactive in providing a good response to the current shock,” he said.
In the opening session, the local currency traded higher against a basket of major currencies and most ASEAN currencies.
The ringgit rose against the Japanese yen to 2.4970/5010 from 2.5010/5040 at the close last Friday, rose against the pound to 5.3248/3329 from 5.3354/3416 and gained against the euro to 4.6095/6166 from 4.6121/6174 previously.
The local currency rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0886/0936 from 3.0910/0948 at last Friday’s close, strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.1322/1579 from 12.1640/1844 and rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 225.3/225.7 from 225.4/225.7 previously.
However, the ringgit was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.46/6.47 compared to its closing level last Friday.
— BERNAMA
