KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit is likely to weaken to the 4.13 level against the United States dollar next week as the American economy records higher employment figures in May, said an analyst.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the domestic unit is further weighed by President Joe Biden’s move to restrict US investments in 59 Chinese companies with alleged ties to Beijing’s military and surveillance efforts.
“Among the 59 companies barred are technology firms Fujian Torch Electron Technology and Huawei Technologies. As a result, jitters emerged as to demand for Malaysia’s semiconductor components from China,” he told Bernama.
He said an unchanged tone from Biden regarding the restrictions will contribute further to the ringgit’s weakness next week.
Yesterday, the US Labour Department reported higher payrolls by 559,000 in May after a revised gain of 278,000 the month before.
The jobless rate, meanwhile, dropped to 5.8%.
On a weekly basis, the ringgit appreciated versus the greenback to 4.1275/1285 from 4.1320/1350.
The local note was higher against other major currencies, too.
It strengthened against the yen to 3.7482/7494 from 3.7598/7629 in the same period, and increased versus the British pound to 5.8313/8327 from 5.8604/8651.
The ringgit rose against the euro to 5.0013/0025 from 5.0344/0385, and strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1076/1086 from 3.1213/1238. – Bernama, June 5, 2021
