Kuala lumpur: The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar on Wednesday amid the US government shutdown and uncertainty over the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, an analyst said. At 8.02 am, the local note inched up to 4.2235/2345 against the greenback from 4.2280/2315 at Tuesday's close.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid highlighted that the US government shutdown has entered its third week with no concrete signs of resolution. The impending meeting between Trump and Xi remains uncertain, suggesting persistent trade tensions. The lack of US data due to the shutdown has resulted in a greater degree of economic uncertainties.

On that note, Dr Mohd Afzanizam expects the ringgit to trade cautiously, with the dollar-ringgit expected to range between RM4.22 and RM4.23 today. At the opening, the ringgit traded higher against major currencies and ASEAN currencies. It advanced against the British pound to 5.6447/6594 from 5.6592/6639, strengthened against the euro to 4.8993/9120 from 4.9134/9174, and gained against the Japanese yen to 2.7817/7892 from 2.7851/7875 at Tuesday's close.

Against its ASEAN peers, the ringgit appreciated against the Singapore dollar at 3.2523/2613 from 3.2598/2628 at yesterday's close and improved versus the Thai baht to 12.8413/8806 from 12.9048/9218 previously. It was marginally higher against the Indonesian rupiah to 254.6/255.4 from 254.8/255.2 and rose against the Philippine peso at 7.25/7.27 from 7.26/7.27 previously.