KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar this morning, as the local currency received some support after the US dollar index (DXY) declined to 106.773 points in anticipation of the release of the United States (US) Nonfarm Payroll (NFP) data tomorrow.
At 9 am, the local note rose to 4.7220/7300 against the greenback from yesterday's close of 4.7285/7320.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama that market participants remained cautious ahead of the announcement on the US NFP, with the consensus estimating it to come in at 153,000.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded easier versus a basket of major currencies.
It went down against the yen to 3.1787/1843 from Wednesday's close of 3.1703/1729, declined against the euro to 4.9680/9764 from 4.9645/9681 yesterday and depreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.7377/7474 from 5.7343/7385 previously.
At the same time, the local note was traded mostly lower against other Asian currencies.
The ringgit rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 301.9/302.6 from 302.4/302.8 on Wednesday but decreased versus the Thai baht to 12.8138/8393 from 12.7549/7685 yesterday.
It had also declined against the Philippines’ peso to 8.34/8.35 from Wednesday’s close of 8.31/8.32 and was flat against the Singapore dollar at 3.4462/4523 from 3.4462/4492 previously. – Bernama, October 5, 2023
