Kuala lumpur: The ringgit opened higher against most major currencies on Friday but eased against the US dollar as markets turned risk-off, with crude oil prices continuing to climb and the Trump administration stepping up its trade protectionist policies. At 8.01 am, the local currency was at 4.0925/0980 versus the greenback, compared with 4.0870/0910 at yesterday's close.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that United States President Donald Trump has announced additional import tariffs of between 10 percent and 12.5 percent on 60 economies, including Malaysia, citing forced labor practices as the reason. Dr. Afzanizam highlighted that Trump remains firm on using tariffs as a strategy to boost the US economy after a major setback in February when the US Supreme Court annulled previous tariff measures.

He further mentioned that the local note is expected to trade cautiously today within the RM4.08 to RM4.10 range against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies at today's opening. It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.4971/5006 from 2.5015/5041 at Thursday's close, appreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6556/6619 from 4.6641/6686 yesterday, and went up versus the British pound to 5.4483/4557 from 5.4647/4701 previously.

The ringgit also rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1651/1696 from 3.1667/1701 yesterday, but inched down versus the Indonesian rupiah to 228.1/228.5 from 227.8/228.1, and fell vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.0937/1153 from 12.0860/1021. The local currency remained flat against the Philippine peso at 6.62/6.64 from 6.62/6.63.