KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — The ringgit closed higher against the United States (US) dollar on Monday, staying at the 3.88 level since opening trade after the US Supreme Court struck down a large part of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy on Friday.
At 6pm, the ringgit strengthened to 3.8885/8925 versus the greenback from Friday’s close of 3.8995/9055.
Earlier in the session, the ringgit touched an eight-year high at the opening, rising to 3.8835/9065 — a level last seen on February 2, 2018.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit continued to maintain its strong performance following the latest developments on the US tariff policy.
“It is a sigh of relief to the global economy, although the Trump administration has maintained its protectionist posture,” he told Bernama.
The USD/MYR is currently hovering around its technical support level at RM3.8722 after breaching the psychological level of RM3.9000.
On February 20, the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act-based tariffs, including his reciprocal tariffs.
The President then announced plans to raise the global tariff to 15 per cent from 10 per cent on Saturday, following the court ruling that invalidated most of his previous trade measures.
At the close, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It slid versus the Japanese yen to 2.5120/5147 from 2.5092/5132 at last Friday’s close, weakened against the euro to 4.5888/5935 from 4.5882/5952, and edged down vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.2526/2580 from 5.2511/2591 previously.
The local note also traded lower against its ASEAN peers.
The ringgit was down marginally versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0727/0761 from 3.0724/0774 at last Friday’s close, dipped versus the Thai baht to 12.5342/5532 from 12.4952/5216, retreated against the Indonesian rupiah to 231.4/231.7 from 230.8/231.3, and fell against the Philippine peso to 6.75/6.76 from 6.70/6.72 previously.
