THE ringgit opened largely unchanged against the US dollar on Friday as traders digested the US Federal Reserve’s unexpectedly hawkish stance accompanying its latest interest rate cut.
At 8am, the local note traded almost flat at 4.1935/4.2050 against the greenback, compared with Thursday’s close of 4.1935/4.1985.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said market sentiment remained cautious as investors assessed how the Fed might adjust its benchmark rate in December, particularly given the limited flow of economic data during the ongoing US government shutdown.
“There appears to be a de-escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea,” he told Bernama.
“The discussion resulted in trade concessions, including a reduction in average tariff rates for Chinese goods from 57% to 47%, and China’s agreement to resume purchases of US soybeans,” he added.
Afzanizam noted that the ringgit depreciated 0.20% against the dollar to close at 4.1960 on Thursday, with the pair briefly breaching the 4.20 level during intraday trading.
He expects the local currency to maintain a cautious tone, with the dollar-ringgit pair likely to hover between 4.19 and 4.20 in the near term.
At the opening, the ringgit traded mostly higher against major currencies. It edged up against the Japanese yen to 2.7246/2.7323 from 2.7266/2.7300 at Thursday’s close and strengthened against the British pound to 5.5182/5.5334 from 5.5304/5.5370. However, it eased slightly versus the euro to 4.8527/4.8660 from 4.8716/4.8774 previously.
The local note traded mixed against Asean currencies, improving against the Singapore dollar to 3.2260/3.2354 from 3.2285/3.2326, while slipping marginally versus the Thai baht to 12.9693/13.0129 from 12.9501/12.9723. It was almost flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 252.0/252.8 and steady against the Philippine peso at 7.12/7.14. - October 31, 2025
