Kuala lumpur: The ringgit extended its gains against the US dollar at Thursday's opening, supported by weaker-than-expected US economic data, an analyst said. At 8 am, the local currency strengthened to 4.0655/0710 against the greenback from Wednesday's close of 4.0760/0805.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell by 0.43 percent to 100.485. This decline followed an unexpected drop in the US producer price index (PPI), which decreased by 0.3 percent month-on-month in June, contrary to market expectations of no change. The decline in the PPI was primarily influenced by lower energy prices, which resulted from a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran.

Dr Mohd Afzanizam further mentioned that US Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman Kevin Warsh's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee suggested that the Fed might delay increasing interest rates in the near term. This potential delay in rate hikes could support emerging market currencies like the ringgit, as both the consumer price index (CPI) and PPI decreased in June due to reduced oil prices.

He also predicted that the ringgit would trade between 4.06 and 4.08 against the US dollar throughout the day. At the opening, the ringgit showed mixed performance against a basket of major currencies. It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.5083/5119 from 2.5103/5132 at Wednesday's close, but weakened against the British pound to 5.5039/5113 from 5.4578/4638 and slipped versus the euro to 4.6631/6694 from 4.6536/6587 previously.

The local currency traded mostly higher against regional peers. It edged up against the Indonesian rupiah to 225.0/225.4 from 225.5/225.9 previously, strengthened against the Philippine peso to 6.59/6.60 from 6.61/6.62, and appreciated versus the Thai baht to 12.1055/1280 from 12.1198/1371. However, it eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.1552/1600 from 3.1546/1583 at Wednesday's close.