KUALA LUMPUR — The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar as investors remained cautious due to higher-than-expected inflation and ahead of global central bank policy updates.

At 8 am, the ringgit rose to 4.4320/4480 against the greenback compared to yesterday’s closing rate of 4.4420/4465.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the general tone for the US Dollar Index (DXY) was softer amid the initial jobless claims last week which rose to 223,000 against consensus estimates of 221,000.

“Clear preference for interest rate cut by US President Donald Trump during his address at the World Economic Forum (WEF) was unsurprising.

“This should make the US Federal Reserve (Fed) task much more palatable as the US central bank has already enacted monetary easing since September last year. It’s a question of timing and the degree of the rate cuts,” he told Bernama. 

Hence, Mohd Afzanizam believes that traders and investors will remain cautious, and he expects the US dollar against the ringgit to hover around RM4.44 to RM4.45 today.

At the opening, the ringgit traded mostly higher against other major currencies.

It edged higher against the Japanese yen to 2.8388/8495 from Thursday’s 2.8429/8461, appreciated against the euro to 4.6155/6321 from 4.6246/6293, but slid against the British pound to 5.4735/4933 from 5.4703/4759.

Similarly, the local note also strengthened against ASEAN currencies.

It rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 272.1/273.2 from 272.7/273.1 yesterday, strengthened against the Philippine peso to 7.55/7.58 from 7.57/7.58, edged up against the Thai baht to 13.0250/0835 from 13.0582/0779, and inched higher against the Singapore dollar to 3.2648/2776 from 3.2734/2770. — BERNAMA