Kuala lumpur: The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar on Thursday, amidst escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, an analyst reported. At 8 am, the local currency appreciated to 4.2240/2340 against the greenback, compared to the previous close of 4.2280/2325 on Wednesday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's chief economist Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted a 0.04 percent decline in the US dollar index (DXY), bringing it to 98.897 points. This decline coincides with renewed uncertainties in US-China trade relations, as the White House considers restricting critical software exports. Additionally, the US administration, under President Donald Trump, has imposed sanctions on Russia's largest oil producers, citing Russia's insufficient efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Dr. Afzanizam expressed optimism about the ringgit's performance, suggesting potential positive momentum with the dollar-ringgit exchange rate possibly hovering between 4.21 and 4.22. Despite the ringgit's gains against the US dollar, it exhibited mixed performance against other major currencies. It strengthened against the Japanese yen, trading at 2.7791/7859 from the previous close of 2.7849/7880. Conversely, it weakened against the British pound and euro, settling at 5.6386/6520 and 4.9024/9140 respectively.

The ringgit's performance against ASEAN currencies was also mixed. It showed slight gains against the Singapore dollar and Indonesian rupiah, trading at 3.2540/2619 and 254.6/255.4 respectively. However, it fell slightly against the Thai baht to 12.8647/9050 and remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.23/7.25.