KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit opened lower today as the US dollar extended gains.
The US macroeconomic data released a few days ago have been positive for the greenback.
At 9am, the local note decreased versus the US dollar to 4.1580/1600 from 4.1530/1550 at Wesdnesday's close.
ActivTrade trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the US initial jobless claims data yesterday came in slightly below expectations, which is normally good for the greenback.
Weekly jobless claims totalled 269,000 last week, lower than the 275,000 estimate.
The ADP Research Institute data released on Wednesday showed non-farm employment data was higher at 517,000 than the expected 400,000.
All this information shows a good economic recovery in the US. Still, the most important piece of the equation is yet to come: the release of the non-farm payrolls report, which measures job creation in the US over the past month.
“If this number comes in higher than expected, it could confirm the start of an uptrend for the US dollar," he said.
Domestically, investors continued to digest Bank Negara Malaysia's decision to keep the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 1.75% in the final 2021 meeting.
The ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar at 3.0779/0797 from 3.0781/0798, strengthened against the British pound to 5.6125/6152 from 5.6585/6612, and gained against the euro to 4.8033/8056 from 4.8142/8165.
However, the local unit slipped against the Japanese yen to 3.0779/0797 from 3.6478/6499 at Wednesday's close.
The market was closed yesterday for the Deepavali holiday. – Bernama, November 5, 2021
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