Kuala Lumpur: The ringgit kicked off the day by opening higher against the US dollar on Tuesday amid traders awaiting details of the United States (US) tariff implementation, an analyst said. At 8 am, the ringgit appreciated to 4.4500/4700 versus the greenback from 4.4640/4680 at Monday’s close.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the S and P 500 and Nasdaq fell sharply overnight, dropping 1.76 per cent and 2.64 per cent, respectively. This decline came as the US prepared to impose higher import tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China from today. While the US ISM Manufacturing Index remained fairly stable at 50.3 points in February from 50.9 in January, the New Orders sub-index fell sharply to 48.6 from 55.1, indicating cooling demand that could lead to lower production.

Dr Mohd Afzanizam highlighted that the US dollar index declined 0.98 per cent to 106.557. Signs of a slowing US economy have raised expectations that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates to stabilise growth. He also mentioned that European leaders’ support for Ukraine regarding security guarantees has boosted risk sentiment to some degree. Against this backdrop, he predicted that the USD/MYR could hover around its immediate support level of 4.45.

Meanwhile, the ringgit showed mixed performance against other major currencies. It weakened against the British pound, euro, and Japanese yen, falling to 5.6528/6782, 4.6663/6872, and 2.9786/9922, respectively. However, the local currency was mostly higher against ASEAN currencies. It rose against the Singapore dollar, Indonesian rupiah, and Philippine peso, but slipped against the Thai baht.