At 8am, the ringgit strengthened to 3.8895/3.9000 against the US dollar from Tuesday’s close of 3.8915/3.8980.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Afzanizam Rashid said the US Dollar Index edged up 0.17% to 97.874 points, underpinned by hawkish remarks from the Federal Reserve and signs of resilience in parts of the US economy.

“The US dollar-ringgit pair briefly traded above RM3.90 before closing at RM3.8948, down 0.11% from the previous session.

“As such, the ringgit is likely to trade sideways today, hovering between RM3.89 and RM3.90,” he added.

At the open, the ringgit was higher against a basket of major currencies.

It inched up against the Japanese yen to 2.4944/2.5014 from 2.4968/2.5011 at Tuesday’s close, strengthened versus the British pound to 5.2489/5.2631 from 5.2531/5.2619 and appreciated against the euro to 4.5799/4.5923 from 4.5873/4.5950.

Against Asean currencies, the ringgit traded mostly firmer.

It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0699/3.0786 from 3.0726/3.0780, gained versus the Thai baht to 12.5060/12.5495 from 12.5463/12.5726, was marginally higher against the Indonesian rupiah at 231.1/231.8 from 231.2/231.7, and edged up against the Philippine peso to 6.73/6.75 from 6.74/6.75 previously.