THE ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar and several major currencies on Friday morning, buoyed by the release of impressive trade data for March 2026.

At 8 am, the local unit was quoted marginally higher at 3.9620/9680 against the greenback, improving from the previous close of 3.9630/9670 as market sentiment reacted positively to the nations expanding trade footprint.

Data released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia indicated that total trade for March surged 9.3 per cent year-on-year to RM273.0 billion, a significant jump from RM249.8 billion in the prior year.

This expansion was fuelled by an 8.3 per cent rise in exports to RM148.8 billion and a 10.4 per cent increase in imports to RM124.2 billion, resulting in a healthy trade surplus of RM24.6 billion.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the Malaysian economy has demonstrated resilience, with advance estimates showing first-quarter 2026 gross domestic product growth above five per cent.

He highlighted that the latest international trade statistics indicated nominal exports grew 12.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 11.0 per cent in the preceding quarter.

Hence, the economy is in a position of strength to withstand current challenges arising from oil shocks due to the war in Iran, he told Bernama.

He added that favourable foreign fund flows in capital markets suggested robust demand for the local currency from international investors.

As such, the ringgit should be well supported despite ongoing concerns over the war in Iran, he added.

Afzanizam also pointed out that the ringgit remained one of the best-performing currencies in Asia on a year-to-date basis, ranking second behind the Chinese yuan.

This regional strength was evident at the opening bell, where the ringgit gained ground against the British pound, rising to 5.3348/3429 from 5.3504/3558, and the euro, which shifted to 4.6288/6358 from 4.6343/6390. The local currency also advanced against the Japanese yen to 2.4800/4839.

Within the ASEAN region, the performance was more varied.

The ringgit appreciated against the Thai baht to 12.1911/2175, while remaining flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 229.2/229.6 and holding steady against the Philippine peso at 6.55/6.56.

The sustained performance suggests that internal economic fundamentals are currently outweighing the external pressures generated by global energy market instability. – April 24, 2026