THE ringgit continued its rally on Friday, opening higher to touch another five-year high against the US dollar during a trading week shortened by the Christmas holiday.
At 8 am, the local currency surged to 4.0410/0495 against the greenback, compared to 4.0425/0515 at Wednesday’s close.
This follows its previous peak of 4.0450/0443 recorded on February 26, 2021. The market was closed on Thursday in observance of Christmas Day.
Speaking to Bernama, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said in light of the holiday-shortened week, trading volumes were expected to remain subdued.
He noted that investors have continued to maintain a positive outlook on the ringgit, particularly as it strengthened against the US dollar to its highest point in five years.
“Typically, there could be some profit-taking activities, especially when the market has priced in all the positive news. Hence, we expect the ringgit to continue trading in a narrow range of RM4.04-RM4.05 today,” he said.
At the market opening, the ringgit was also traded higher against a basket of major currencies. It appreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.5874/5930 from 2.5940/5999 at Wednesday’s close, strengthened versus the British pound to 5.4578/4693 from 5.4647/4768, and gained against the euro to 4.7615/7715 from 4.7697/7804.
The local note also outperformed its regional peers. It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1460/1531 from 3.1506/1578 on Wednesday, improved versus the Thai baht to 12.9990/13.0352 from 13.0486/0705, and strengthened against the Philippine peso to 6.86/6.89 from 6.88/6.90. However, the ringgit traded slightly weaker against the Indonesian rupiah at 241.3/242.0 compared to 241.0/241.8 previously.
Dr Mohd Afzanizam highlighted that while the ringgit remains robust, traders should remain alert to possible short-term fluctuations, particularly given the holiday-thinned liquidity in currency markets. - December 26, 2025
