The ringgit rose slightly against the US dollar today with the US Dollar Index (DXY) maintaining high levels following the recent announcement by US presidential candidate Donald Trump.
He revealed plans to raise import tariffs aimed at strengthening the US economy.
At 10.10am, the ringgit was at 4.2990 which is a positive 0.19% against the US dollar from where it closed at 4.3080 on Tuesday.
The Chief Economist of Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, Dr Afzanizam said the DXY hovered around 103.25, which was an increase from 100.76 a month ago and showed a strengthening trend for the US dollar.
Afzanizam explained that the ringgit may remain weak in the near term given global economic trends.
The USD/MYR pair is hovering close to its immediate resistance level at RM4.3259 and market participants are expected to trade cautiously as they look ahead to the presentation of Budget 2025 on Friday for potential insights on fiscal consolidation and economic reforms.
In early trading, the ringgit showed gains against major currency options.
It rose against the euro to 4.6851/6993 from the previous close of 4.7013/7057, strengthened against the British pound to 5.6223/6393 from 5.6357/6410 and added value against the Japanese yen to 2.8864/8958 from 2.8928/8957.
The ringgit also showed improvement against several Asean currencies.
It rose against the Thai baht to 12.9116/9580 from 12.9121/9303 and added value against the Singapore dollar, trading at 3.2853/2954 versus 3.2928/2961 yesterday.
Against the Indonesian rupiah, the ringgit rose slightly to 276.1/277.1 from 276.3/276.7 previously. However, it remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.44/7.47 compared to yesterday's 7.44/7.46.
