Kuala Lumpur: The ringgit ended slightly lower today as it faced pressure from a stronger US dollar, bolstered by intensified tariff rhetoric from United States President Donald Trump. This development has amplified the dollar's strength across broader markets.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the ringgit depreciated marginally to 4.3760/3825 against the dollar by 6 pm, compared to the previous close of 4.3750/3800 on Friday. Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, noted that tariff concerns have re-emerged despite the avoidance of a US-Colombia trade conflict.

"Although the ringgit fell, its performance was more robust during the early trading hours, supported by Malaysia's strong economic fundamentals and the central bank's prudent approach to maintaining steady interest rates," Innes explained to Bernama. He further mentioned that Trump's more conciliatory tone towards Chinese President Xi Jinping provided some relief to Asian currencies but was not enough to counteract the prevailing strength of the dollar.

Innes also highlighted that the ringgit's ability to remain stable, particularly above the 4.40 level, will depend significantly on future developments in US-China trade relations.

By the end of the trading day, the ringgit mostly declined against other major currencies. It weakened against the Japanese yen to 2.8313/8357 from the previous 2.8115/8149 close and fell against the British pound to 5.4643/4724 from 5.4373/4435. Conversely, it saw a slight gain against the Euro, moving to 4.5900/5968 from 4.5911/5964.

The local currency demonstrated mixed performance against ASEAN currencies. It strengthened against the Thai baht, reaching 12.9840/13.0110 from 13.0015/0241, and rose against the Philippine peso to 7.48/7.50 from 7.50/7.51. However, it depreciated against the Indonesian rupiah to 270.6/271.0 from 270.5/270.9 and slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.2518/2569 from 3.2482/2522.