KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar on Wednesday, supported by continued weakness in the greenback as fiscal uncertainties and tariff risks in the United States weighed on sentiment, an analyst said.
At 8 am, the local note stood at 4.1870/2065 versus the greenback, up from Tuesday’s close of 4.1995/2005.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY) extended its decline, easing to 96.819.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's chief economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, said the dollar’s softness reflected ongoing concerns over US fiscal policy, including tariff measures and planned government spending cuts.
"Tax reductions and potential cuts in social spending could undermine US growth prospects,” he told Bernama.
At the open, the ringgit was higher against a basket of major currencies.
It firmed against the Japanese yen to 2.9186/9324 from 2.9351/9389, strengthened versus the British pound to 5.7555/7823 from 5.7797/7866, and appreciated against the euro to 4.9423/9654 from 4.9566/9625.
The local note also advanced against most ASEAN currencies.
It was marginally higher against the Indonesian rupiah at 258.4/259.7 from 258.9/259.4 and gained on the Philippine peso to 7.43/7.47 from 7.45/7.46.
It improved vis-à-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.2899/3057 from 3.3015/3059 and strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.8930/9630 from 12.9363/9585.- Bernama
