Ringgit dips against US dollar, but mostly higher against major currencies

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 — The Malaysian ringgit opened mostly higher against major currencies but slightly lower against the US dollar, driven by geopolitical uncertainties, according to market observations. At 8am, the ringgit slipped to 4.0725/0780 against the US greenback, marking a minor decline from Friday's closing rate of 4.0715/0765.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam, cited geopolitical risks as a key factor influencing market sentiment, emphasizing that US President Donald Trump's rejection of Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remains contentious. Iran had proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping within just seven days, but Trump firmly rejected the idea.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed that Tehran would wait for an official response from mediators regarding the situation. Traders are also keeping a close eye on US labour market data to gauge the economy's future trajectory, noted Dr Mohd Afzanizam. The ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies at the opening, gaining against the euro to 4.6333/6395 and advancing against the British pound to 5.3867/3940.

However, it weakened against the Japanese yen to 2.5864/5900 from its previous level of 2.5764/5797. Conversely, the ringgit strengthened against several Asean currencies. It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.1851/1897 from 3.1858/1900 at the previous week's close and surged against the Thai baht to 12.1712/1946 from 12.2036/2234.

The ringgit remained unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah, trading at 227.4/227.8, and against the Philippine peso, at 6.52/6.53.