At 8.05am, the local currency inched up to 4.4875/4.5050 versus the dollar, compared with yesterday’s close of 4.4885/4.4930.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the shock from newly announced US tariffs continues to dominate market sentiment.

He noted that White House officials have confirmed a 104% tariff on selected Chinese goods will proceed as planned, while Beijing is expected to retaliate.

“At this juncture, the degree of uncertainty surrounding the impact of a potential trade war on the global economy will be the key focus,” he said.

“A sharp tariff hike on China would hurt its export-driven industries, prompting more stimulus measures to support the economy.

“On that note, the ringgit could remain under pressure, given its strong correlation with the Chinese yuan — at 78% since 2015,” he added.

The ringgit was weaker against most major currencies this morning.

It slipped against the Japanese yen to 3.0785/3.0907 from 3.0501/3.0533, eased versus the euro to 4.9246/4.9438 from 4.9005/4.9055, and declined against the British pound to 5.7368/5.7592 from 5.7210/5.7268.

However, the local note was mostly firmer against Asean currencies.

It strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.8552/12.9139 from 12.8898/12.9094, edged up against the Indonesian rupiah to 265.6/266.8 from 265.7/266.1, and rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.3169/3.3304 from 3.3224/3.3259.

The ringgit was little changed against the Philippine peso at 7.83/7.86 from 7.83/7.84 previously.