KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar on Wednesday as global sentiment improved on hopes that the US may withdraw from Iran within weeks.
At 8am, the local currency rose to 4.0200/0400 against the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.0475/0520.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said US President Donald Trump has signalled a possible withdrawal from Iran within two to three weeks.
“For markets, that was enough to ease some of the immediate safe-haven demand for the dollar, allowing regional currencies like the ringgit to recover, with investors tentatively rotating back into risk,” he told Bernama.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit is expected to strengthen further, potentially moving closer to or even breaching the RM4.00 psychological level.
“At the current juncture, de-escalation is something the world needs. This could pave the way for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and allow reconstruction of affected oil and gas facilities in the Gulf region,” he said.
Despite the positive outlook from a potential US exit, Mohd Sedek noted that the greenback also came under pressure following weaker US Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data, signalling a cooling labour market.
According to the report, job openings fell to 6.88 million in February from a revised 7.24 million in January, in line with market expectations.
“That matters for currency markets because the dollar’s recent strength has been closely tied to the resilience of US economic data. Any signs of moderation will begin to erode that support, particularly in shaping expectations around the US Federal Reserve’s outlook,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It strengthened against the British pound to 5.3233/3498 from 5.3484/3543 at Tuesday’s close, edged up against the Japanese yen to 2.5347/5476 from 2.5351/5381, but weakened against the euro to 4.6519/6751 from 4.6417/6468 previously.
The local currency also performed mostly higher against ASEAN currencies.
It improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.1294/1452 from 3.1361/1399, rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 235.9/237.1 from 237.5/237.8, and strengthened versus the Philippine peso to 6.62/6.65 from 6.66/6.67.
However, it fell against the Thai baht to 12.3517/4208 from 12.2726/2926 previously.
