According to reports, Powell told a conference that the US has a weak job market and above-target inflation, which creates a policy dilemma and economic uncertainty.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said Powell also has reignited the expectation that an interest rate cut of 25 basis points is still on the table.

“The dovish remarks dampened the US Dollar Index (DXY) down by 0.21% to 98.842 points.

“The rise in DXY of late has been largely associated with the US government shutdown, which resulted in delayed key data point releases,” he told Bernama.

Afzanizam said the ringgit has maintained its narrow range against the US dollar, hovering around RM4.22 to RM4.23 during the trading session.

At 6pm, the local currency stood at 4.2305/4.2355 versus the US dollar.

The ringgit weakened against a basket of major currencies.

It slipped against the euro to 4.9213/4.9272 from 4.8879/4.8937 at yesterday’s close, softened versus the British pound to 5.6469/5.6535 from 5.6118/5.6184 yesterday, and declined vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.7948/2.7983 from 2.7808/2.7843.

The ringgit also closed lower against Asean currencies.

The local currency depreciated versus the Thai baht to 12.9933/13.0151 from 12.8975/12.9182 at yesterday’s close, ticked down against the Singapore dollar to 3.2648/3.2689 from 3.2512/3.2553 previously, eased against the Indonesian rupiah to 255.2/255.6 from 254.8/255.2, and dropped versus the Philippine peso to 7.29/7.30 from 7.26/7.27 previously.