Kuala lumpur: The ringgit continued to strengthen against the US dollar at the opening session on Monday, building on gains from last Friday, as projections indicated that the Malaysian economy was poised for growth in the second quarter, suggesting that the country’s economy remains resilient.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Malaysia’s economy was forecast to grow by 4.5 percent in the second quarter based on advance gross domestic product (GDP) estimates released last Friday, slightly outpacing the previous quarter’s growth rate of 4.4 percent.

At 8 am, the ringgit rose to 4.2330/2540 against the greenback, compared to Friday’s close of 4.2410/2455. However, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid anticipates the ringgit will remain in a narrow range due to ongoing concerns regarding US tariffs, with the Aug 1 deadline approaching. “As such, expect ringgit to range between RM4.24 and RM4.25 today as traders remain fairly cautious,” he told Bernama.

At the opening, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies. It dipped slightly against the Japanese yen to 2.8518/8662 from 2.8517/8549, strengthened against the British pound to 5.6790/7072 from 5.6999/7060, and advanced against the euro to 4.9230/9474 from 4.9336/9388 at Friday’s close.

The local currency also showed an upward trend against most ASEAN currencies. It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.2944/3110 from 3.3027/3065, gained against the Thai baht to 13.0608/1337 from 13.3027/3065, appreciated against the Indonesian rupiah to 259.7/261.1 from 260.2/260.6, and edged up against the Philippine peso to 7.40/7.44 from 7.41/7.43.