KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar today as global sentiment improved on hopes that the US may be leaving Iran in a matter of weeks.

At 8am, the local currency climbed to 4.0200/0400 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.0475/0520.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said US President Donald Trump has signalled a withdrawal from Iran within two to three weeks.

“For markets, that was enough to ease some of the immediate safe-haven demand for the dollar, allowing regional currencies like the ringgit to recover, with investors tentatively rotating back into risk,” he told Bernama.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid opined that the ringgit is expected to improve today, possibly moving closer to or even breaching the RM4.00 psychological level.

“At the current juncture, de-escalation is something the world needs. This could pave the way for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and allow reconstruction activities of the affected oil and gas facilities in the Gulf region,” he said.

As positive as a US exit may be, Mohd Sedek said the greenback came under additional pressure from weaker US Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data, which pointed to a cooling US labour market.

According to the report, February job openings declined to 6.88 million from January’s revised reading of 7.24 million, the drop in line with consensus forecasts.

“That matters for currency markets because the dollar’s recent strength has been closely tied to the resilience of US economic data. Any signs of moderation will begin to chip away at that support, particularly in shaping expectations around the US Federal Reserve outlook,” he added.

Meanwhile, the ringgit opened mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It strengthened against the British pound to 5.3233/3498 from 5.3484/3543 at yesterday’s close, rose versus the Japanese yen to 2.5347/5476 compared with 2.5351/5381, but was down vis-à-vis the euro to 4.6519/6751 from 4.6417/6468 previously.

The local currency also traded mostly higher against Asean currencies.

It improved versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1294/1452 from 3.1361/1399 at yesterday’s close, inched up versus the Indonesian rupiah to 235.9/237.1 from 237.5/237.8, and rose against the Philippine peso to 6.62/6.65 from 6.66/6.67.

The ringgit fell to 12.3517/4208 against the Thai baht from 12.2726/2926 previously. — Bernama