Ringgit Edges Up As Trump S Tariff Talks Escalate

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KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit traded marginally higher against the US dollar at the opening amid growing market concerns over the impact of US tariffs on the global economy, said Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid.
At 8am, the ringgit stood at 4.4275/4.4335 against the greenback, up from yesterday’s close of 4.4280/4.4315.“The US dollar-ringgit pair is expected to hover around RM4.42-RM4.44 as traders and investors remain anxious about the impact of US tariffs on the global economy,” he noted.
He explained that US President Donald Trump’s tariff is taking the centre stage again following his latest move to impose a 25% tariff on automotive imports to the US.
“Such a measure is likely to result in a price increase of thousands of US dollars for vehicles sold in the US. Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Germany are the major sources of imports for the US automotive sector,” he added.
In the latest news update this morning, Trump said he would be willing to reduce tariffs to secure a deal with TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, to sell the short video app used by 170 million Americans.
ByteDance faces an April 5 deadline to find a non-Chinese buyer for TikTok or risk a US ban on national security grounds.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
It appreciated against the euro to 4.7560/4.7625 from yesterday’s closing of 4.7805/4.7842, went up against the British pound to 5.7013/5.7090 from 5.7161/5.7206 on Wednesday, and rose against the Japanese yen to 2.9428/2.9470 from 2.9498/2.9524 previously.
At the same time, the local note was traded mixed against Asean currencies.
It strengthened against the Thai baht to 13.0102/13.0359 from 13.0277/13.0453 on Wednesday, advanced against the Singapore dollar to 3.3009/3.3056 from 3.3104/3.3133 and inched up against the Indonesian rupiah to 266.8/267.4 as compared with 266.9/267.2 previously.
However, it was almost unchanged against the Philippines’ peso at 7.67/7.69 from 7.67/7.68 at close. - FMT

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