Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid noted that the local currency was on “firmer footing” as it rose 0.27% against the greenback.

Apart from that, he said the latest US consumer price index reading, which came in lower than expected in September, suggested that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is on track to deliver a 25 basis points interest rate cut when it meets from Oct 28-29.

“This would narrow the gap between the Fed funds rate and the overnight policy rate, which could be positive for the ringgit,” he told Bernama.

At 6pm, the ringgit appreciated to 4.2085/4.2135 against the US dollar from 4.2210/4.2255 at Friday’s close.

At the close, the ringgit also traded higher against major currencies.

It climbed against the Japanese yen to 2.7550/2.7582 from 2.7592/2.7623 at Friday’s close, gained against the British pound to 5.6158/5.6225 from 5.6232/5.6292, and was higher versus the euro at 4.8974/4.9032 from 4.9010/4.9062.

The local currency traded stronger against Asean currencies.

It inched up against the Singapore dollar to 3.2460/3.2502 from 3.2484/3.2521 at Friday’s close, gained versus the Thai baht to 12.8633/12.8837 from 12.8768/12.8952, and edged up vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 253.1/253.6 from 254.2/254.6.

The ringgit strengthened versus the Philippine peso to 7.14/7.16 from 7.20/7.21 previously.