Kuala Lumpur: The ringgit weakened against the US dollar today alongside other ASEAN currencies as traders and investors are anxious about the reciprocal tariffs to be imposed by the United States (US) government on April 2. At 6 pm, the local note eased to 4.4300/4340 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.4280/4315.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid stated that ASEAN currencies were weaker against the US dollar, with the Japanese yen depreciating to 150.53 per US dollar, falling by 0.41 per cent. The Singapore dollar also fell by 0.28 per cent to S$1.3399 per US dollar. The Indonesia rupiah, however, emerged as the best-performing currency, rising by 0.20 per cent to 16,562 per US dollar, likely due to intervention by the Bank of Indonesia after the currency hit its lowest point since June 1998 on Monday.

Mohd Afzanizam noted that the ringgit was the second-best performing ASEAN currency, appreciating by 0.06 per cent to RM4.4335. The immediate concern remains the automotive sector, given the 25 per cent tariff levied on key exporting countries to the US such as Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Germany.

The ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies. It appreciated against the euro to 4.7720/7763 from 4.7805/7842 at yesterday’s close, edged up against the Japanese yen to 2.9351/9380 from 2.9498/9524, but decreased against the British pound to 5.7236/7287 from 5.7161/7206.

In contrast, the local note was mostly lower against ASEAN currencies. It fell against the Philippine peso to 7.72/7.73 from 7.67/7.68, weakened against the Thai baht to 13.0678/0854 from 13.0277/0453, and slid against the Indonesian rupiah to 267.4/267.8 from 266.9/267.2. However, the ringgit advanced against the Singapore dollar to 3.3060/3094 from 3.3104/3133 at the previous close.