Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said that although the Fed had delivered a 25 basis points rate cut, the decision was not unanimous.

“One member voted to maintain the Fed funds rate, while another preferred a 50 basis points reduction.

“It appears the ringgit has returned to its psychological level of RM4.20,” he told Bernama.

He added that the precondition for further ringgit appreciation depends largely on how quickly the Fed proceeds with additional rate cuts.

“Nonetheless, there remains upside potential for the ringgit, especially if the Fed is perceived to be behind the curve.

“This is particularly relevant given that the ongoing US government shutdown has limited the federal open market committee members’ access to key economic data needed for informed decision-making,” he said.

At 6pm, the ringgit eased to 4.1935/4.1985 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.1850/4.1900.

At the closing, the ringgit traded higher against most major currencies.

It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.7266/2.7300 from 2.7493/2.7528 at yesterday’s close, strengthened against the British pound to 5.5304/5.5370 from 5.5326/5.5392 and climbed versus the euro to 4.8716/4.8774 from 4.8722/4.8780.

The local currency also traded mostly higher against Asean currencies.

It improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.2285/3.2326 from 3.2324/3.2365 at yesterday’s close and inched up vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.9501/12.9723 from 12.9651/12.9858 but slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 252/252.4 from 251.8/252.2, and was flat against the Philippine peso at 7.12/7.13 from 7.12/7.14 previously.