Kuala lumpur: The ringgit continued its strong footing by opening higher and touched the 4.16 level versus the greenback on Monday buoyed by continuous buying interest in the local note. At 8.09 am, the ringgit rose to 4.1670/1830 against the US dollar, compared with last Friday’s close of 4.1735/1775. On the closing last week, the local currency strengthened to more than a one-year high, surpassing the 4.1730/1790 level seen on Oct 2 last year.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted the ringgit has performed favourably since last week, appreciating by more than seven percent year-to-date and is the best performing currency in Asia. He mentioned the resilience in the Malaysian economy might prompt Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to maintain the prevailing Overnight Policy Rate level, suggesting a narrowing gap with the Fed Fund Rate, which could further appreciate the ringgit. Dr. Afzanizam added that key data points, such as the third quarter 2025 gross domestic product announcement on Friday, would likely keep the ringgit steady in the near term.

Meanwhile, BNM Governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour commented in an interview with The Edge that the global landscape has changed significantly. He stated that this year, the ringgit has increased six percent against the US dollar and is also higher by 2.4 percent against major trading partner currencies like the Singapore dollar and Chinese yuan. He emphasized that Malaysia’s flexible exchange rate system allows the ringgit to adjust to global and domestic conditions, with coordinated efforts providing enduring support. He stressed the importance of maintaining strong fundamentals and sound policies to ensure the ringgit reflects the strength of the economy over time.

At the opening, the ringgit was mostly higher against a basket of major currencies. It gained against the yen to 2.7108/7214 from 2.7192/7220 at last Friday’s close and increased versus the euro to 4.8133/8319 from 4.8154/8200, though it weakened against the British pound to 5.4759/4969 from 5.4660/4713 previously. The local note also showed strength against ASEAN currencies, improving against the Singapore dollar, Indonesian rupiah, Philippine peso, and Thai baht.