KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened marginally lower against the US dollar today, driven by the greenback's improved sentiment, an economist said.

At 9.08 am, the ringgit eased to 4.7080/7125 against the greenback, compared to yesterday's close of 4.7055/7075.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit is likely to trade sideways today, as technical charts indicate that the USD/MYR is within a neutral zone.

"The US Dollar Index (DXY) continued to stay above 105 points due to a weak euro, Japanese yen, and pound sterling, which together account for more than 80 per cent of the index.

"In a nutshell, the outlook for a strong US dollar in the near term remains intact," he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies in early trade.

The local unit increased against the Japanese yen to 2.9797/9828 from Wednesday's close of 2.9806/9821 and rose marginally against the British pound to 5.9872/9929 from 5.9896/9922. 

However, it weakened against the euro to 5.0592/0641 from 5.0518/0540 previously.

The ringgit traded mostly lower against its ASEAN peers.

It declined against the Singapore dollar to 3.4856/4892 from 3.4832/4850 yesterday and fell against the Thai baht to 12.8420/8585 from 12.8257/8354.

It also dropped against the Indonesian rupiah to 287.6/288.1 from 287.4/287.7 at Wednesday's close, while unchanged against the Philippine peso at 8.01/8.02.