THE ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar this morning, extending gains from Wednesday’s close as investors await Bank Negara Malaysia’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision on the overnight policy rate (OPR) later today.
At 8am, the local note stood at 4.1865/1985 against the greenback compared with 4.1890/1925 at yesterday’s close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the central bank is expected to maintain the OPR at 2.75%, supported by the Malaysian economy’s resilience as reflected in third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.2%.
“As such, the US dollar–ringgit pair is expected to linger around the RM4.19 level today,” he said.
Mohd Afzanizam added that overall sentiment in the local market remains upbeat even as the US Dollar Index (DXY) hovers near the 100-point mark.
“The United States economic indicators posted encouraging figures. Nevertheless, issues surrounding the government shutdown and tariffs are weighing on business sentiment as government service delivery is being interrupted, along with increasing business costs due to higher import tariffs,” he said.
At the opening, the ringgit recorded mixed performance against major currencies. It was slightly lower against the British pound at 5.4642/4799 from 5.4612/4658 and eased versus the euro to 4.8124/8262 from 4.8106/8147. However, it appreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.7116/7245 from 2.7254/7279.
The local currency also strengthened against most ASEAN currencies. It rose to 3.2039/2133 against the Singapore dollar from 3.2055/2085 and firmed versus the Philippine peso to 7.11/7.14 from 7.12/7.13. It was almost unchanged at 250.4/251.2 against the Indonesian rupiah and slipped marginally to 12.8776/9244 from 12.8730/8893 against the Thai baht. - November 6, 2025
