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THE ringgit extended its gains for a seventh straight day on Thursday, opening higher against the US dollar after the Federal Reserve’s widely anticipated 25-basis-point rate cut overnight.
At 8am, the local unit traded at 4.1835/4.2050 against the greenback, up from Wednesday’s close of 4.1850/4.1900.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid cautioned that the move comes with a caveat.
"Monetary policy is not a preset course, and views are polarised among Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members.
“The gap between the US federal funds rate (FFR) and Malaysia’s overnight policy rate (OPR) will not be narrowed soon enough. US dollar returns may look attractive to some degree," he said.
Afzanizam added that the ringgit may see some profit-taking after surpassing the RM4.20 psychological level, suggesting the local unit could range between RM4.19 and RM4.20 today.
The ringgit opened stronger against most major currencies, rising against the Japanese yen to 2.7383/2.7525 from 2.7493/2.7528, gaining against the British pound to 5.5189/5.5472 from 5.5326/5.5392, and climbing versus the euro to 4.8533/4.8782 from 4.8722/4.8780.
It also traded mostly higher against regional peers, appreciating against the Singapore dollar to 3.2245/3.2416 from 3.2324/3.2365 and edging up versus the Indonesian rupiah to 251.7/253.1 from 251.8/252.2.
The ringgit strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.9096/12.9840 from 12.9651/12.9858 but remained largely unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.12/7.16. - October 30, 2025