Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said emerging market currencies were also weaker against the US dollar, noting that the local currency had depreciated by 0.29% to RM3.9645 in the early session.

He noted that the deadlock between the US and Iran has persisted, with prospects for renewed talks fading.

Hence, he said developments in the Middle East will remain a key focus, as they will shape traders and investors’ risk appetite.

“It seems that it is going to be defensive mode and therefore, the US dollar could gain some traction,” he told Bernama.

At 6pm, the ringgit eased to 3.9630/3.9670 against the greenback, compared with 3.9510/3.9550 at the close yesterday.

At the close, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

It strengthened against the euro to 4.6343/4.6390 from 4.6408/4.6455 at the close yesterday, but slid versus the Japanese yen to 2.4809/2.4836 from 2.4794/2.4821 and dipped against the British pound to 5.3504/5.3558 from 5.3414/5.3468 previously.

At the same time, the local currency traded mostly higher against regional peers.

It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.1041/3.1075 from 3.1030/3.1063, but strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.2066/12.2242 from 12.2717/12.2902 previously.

The ringgit rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 229.2/229.5 from 229.9/230.2 at the close yesterday and inched up against the Philippine peso to 6.55/6.56 from 6.57/6.58.