KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 (Bernama) – The ringgit opened marginally higher against the US dollar this morning as market sentiment remained cautious amid renewed concerns over the impact of US tariff policies on the global economy, said Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid.
At 8 am, the local note was trading at 4.4275/4335 against the greenback, a slight improvement from Wednesday’s close of 4.4280/4315.
“The US dollar-ringgit pair is expected to hover between RM4.42 and RM4.44 as traders assess the implications of Washington’s tariff decisions on global trade,” Afzanizam told Bernama.
He said US President Donald Trump’s latest decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff on automotive imports had reignited market jitters, particularly due to the potential price hike for vehicles in the American market.
“This move could raise the cost of imported vehicles by thousands of US dollars. Key exporters to the US automotive market—namely Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Germany—will be significantly affected,” he noted.
In a separate development, Trump this morning expressed willingness to reduce tariffs as part of a potential deal with ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, which currently has around 170 million users in the US.
Meanwhile, the ringgit also strengthened against several regional currencies. It appreciated against the Thai baht at 13.0102/0359 from 13.0211/0453 on Wednesday, gained against the Singapore dollar at 3.3009/3056 from 3.3104/3133, and edged up against the Indonesian rupiah to 266.8/267.4 from 266.9/267.2.
However, it was little changed against the Philippine peso, trading at 7.67/7.69 compared to 7.67/7.68 at yesterday’s close.
— BERNAMA —
