Kuala lumpur: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar, buoyed by the diminishing expectations of an interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) at its upcoming September meeting, an economist indicated.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, at 8 am, the local currency appreciated to 4.0565/0625 against the greenback from its previous closing of 4.0575/0615 on Tuesday. Dr. Mohd Afzanizam, chief economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, mentioned that the market's attention is now on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes, which are set to be released today. Investors are keen to confirm that the Fed is not rushing to tighten its monetary policy.

Dr. Afzanizam also highlighted that Malaysia's strong economic growth and stable inflation indicators point to a resilient economy, allowing Bank Negara Malaysia the option to maintain its current policy rate. "As such, we expect the ringgit to hover around RM4.05 to RM4.07 today," he conveyed to Bernama.

At the market's opening, the ringgit showed mixed performance against a basket of major currencies. It appreciated against the euro to 4.6958/7028 from its previous level of 4.6982/7028. However, it fell against the Japanese yen to 2.5428/5467 from 2.5420/5446 and against the British pound to 5.4909/4990 from 5.4902/4956 at Tuesday's close.

The ringgit also traded higher against the Singapore dollar, moving to 3.1729/1778 from 3.1756/1790, and rose against the Thai baht to 12.2453/2697 from 12.2657/2819. It remained nearly flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 227.1/227.5 from 227.1/227.4 and unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.56/6.58 from the previous close.