The ringgit opened marginally stronger against the US dollar on Tuesday as markets remained cautious ahead of further developments in trade negotiations between China and the United States.

At 8am, the local note edged up to 4.2275/2370 versus the greenback, compared to Monday’s close of 4.2290/2345.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, said the US dollar index (DXY) dipped 0.25% to 98.939 points following encouraging signals from US officials on the status of the negotiations.

“The USD/MYR traded within a narrow band of RM4.231 to RM4.2458 yesterday as investors remained cautious, and a similar pattern is likely to persist today,” he said.

Afzanizam added that China’s trade data with the US continued to show significant weakness, with exports tumbling 34.5% and imports dropping 18.1% in May—marking the second consecutive month of contraction. He also pointed out that China’s consumer price index has remained negative for four straight months, registering -0.1% year-on-year in April, reflecting persistent weak demand.

In early trade, the ringgit was broadly higher against a basket of major currencies. It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.9242/9310 from 2.9344/2.9384 on Monday, gained against the British pound to 5.7300/7428 from 5.7392/7466, and appreciated versus the euro to 4.8303/8412 from 4.8316/8379.

However, performance was mixed against ASEAN currencies. The ringgit improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.2876/2952 from 3.2908/2953 but declined slightly versus the Thai baht to 12.9463/9846 from 12.9414/9642.

It was nearly flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 259.4/260.1 from 259.5/260.0 and remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.57/7.59.