Ringgit stronger, following temporary halt by US court on tariffs

The ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar today, boosted by improved investor confidence in emerging market currencies after a US court temporarily halted a decision to block most Trump-era import tariffs, an analyst said, Bernama reported.

At 8am, the local note surged to 4.2180/4.2485 versus the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.2390/4.2475.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell below the 100-point mark to 99.278 points after the US court of appeals for the federal circuit granted a temporary reprieve from a US court of international trade ruling that would have blocked most Trump-era import tariffs on Wednesday (US time).

The New York-based Court of International Trade ruled that Trump cannot impose sweeping tariffs across the board by using emergency powers law.

The processing of imposing tariffs typically had always gone through the US Congress.

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