KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — The ringgit opened mostly higher against major currencies today despite a stronger United States dollar, supported by easing domestic inflation and expectations of a possible normalisation of the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR).
Against the greenback, the ringgit strengthened to 4.0780/0850 at 8 am, from yesterday’s close of 4.0805/0845.
The Statistics Department (DOSM) had reported that inflation eased to 1.8 per cent in September 2026, from 1.9 per cent in August.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid expects the ringgit to trade within the RM4.07 to RM4.08 range against the US dollar today.
He said investors are also monitoring geopolitical risks in West Asia after Iran’s navy reported an attack by the US military on its Konarak naval base.
“We are entering the blackout period, during which US Federal Reserve officials will not be commenting publicly ahead of next week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting,” he told Bernama.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, rose 0.15 per cent to 101.989 points, he added.
At the open, the ringgit traded mostly higher against major currencies. It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5724/5770 from 2.5790/5817 at yesterday’s close, and rose against the British pound to 5.4274/4367 from 5.4369/4422.
However, it edged lower against the euro to 4.5731/5809 from 4.5726/5771 previously.
The ringgit also strengthened against most of its ASEAN peers.
It edged up against the Indonesian rupiah to 225.9/226.4 from 226.0/226.4 yesterday, and against the Philippine peso to 6.46/6.48 from 6.47/6.48.
The local currency also rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1862/1919 from 3.1886/1920 at the previous close, and strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.1373/1661 from 12.1451/1613.
