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THE ringgit began trading stronger against the US dollar on Monday, hovering near its highest level since May 2018, supported by a more optimistic market sentiment and a softer US dollar.
At 8am, the local currency strengthened to 3.9850/9950 against the greenback, compared with 4.0045/0080 recorded last Friday.
The ringgit last traded at a similar level on May 24, 2018, when it touched RM3.9797 against the dollar.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd’s Chief Economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, attributed the ringgit’s resilience to a positive outlook on Malaysia’s economy, particularly following Bank Negara Malaysia’s recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting.
“BNM may be inclined to keep the OPR steady, and we see upside potential as the long-term average from July 21, 2005, until today is about RM3.82,” he said.
Mohd Afzanizam also noted that global developments were influencing the local currency.
“The main focus is on the Dollar-Yen (USDJPY), as the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York are seen to be making direct interventions in the foreign exchange market.
“This happened as Japan is going for a snap election on Feb 8, and election pledges are mostly populist in nature, which can cause further strain on Japan's fiscal position. It seems that the intervention could see the US Dollar be much weaker,” he added.
He highlighted that the US Dollar Index (DXY) had fallen 0.43 per cent to 97.181 points, and suggested that the USDMYR exchange rate could attempt once more to close below the RM4.0000 threshold today.
The ringgit had briefly touched RM3.99 during midday trading on Friday but closed slightly weaker at RM4.0062.
Against other major currencies, the ringgit slipped versus the Japanese yen to 2.5680/5748 from Friday’s 2.5337/5361, weakened against the British pound to 5.4447/4584 from 5.4177/4224, and declined vis-à-vis the euro to 4.7258/7377 from 4.6993/7034.
It also traded softer against the Singapore dollar at 3.1348/1429 compared with 3.1302/1330 on Friday, eased against the Thai baht to 12.8420/8858 from 12.8362/8544, inched higher against the Indonesian rupiah to 236.9/237.6 from 238.0/238.3, and gained slightly against the Philippine peso at 6.74/6.76 from 6.77/6.78. - January 26, 2026
