KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit traded higher against the US dollar in the early session today as investors await the release of the United States nonfarm payrolls data later today, said a dealer.
At 9am, the local note rose to 4.5990/6030 against the greenback compared with yesterday’s closing of 4.6110/6165.
ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said investors were uncertain ahead of the release of the US nonfarm payrolls data.
“From a technical point of view, the Relative Strength Index indicator shows that the US dollar/ringgit is in an overbought region, and the ringgit could rise further if the price manages to break the 4.5860 level.
“If that is the case, the US dollar/ringgit could reach 4.5260, where it should find some solid support,” he said in a note today.
Meanwhile, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit could stabilise and might record a slight appreciation given the positive development on the US debt ceiling along with soft economic data that might lead to a more dovish stand by the US Federal Reserve.
In the meantime, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It went down to 3.3101/3132 against the Japanese yen from 3.2995/3036 at yesterday’s closing, declined against the euro to 4.9494/9537 from 4.9356/9415 and depreciated versus the British pound 5.7602/7653 from 5.7407/7475 yesterday.
The local note was traded mostly lower against other Asean currencies.
The ringgit fell against the Thai baht to 13.2823/3008 from 13.2569/2792 yesterday and slid against the Singapore dollar to 3.4117/4149 from yesterday’s 3.4095/4138.
It eased against the Indonesian rupiah at 306.6/307.1 from 307.4/308.0 yesterday and was flat against the Philippine peso at 8.19/8.21.
Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia opened higher today in line with the positive Wall Street performance overnight.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 1.16 points to 1,384.17 from 1,383.01 at yesterday’s close.
The key index opened 2.81 points higher at 1,385.82.
The broader market was positive, with advancers surpassing decliners 160 to 121, while 236 counters were unchanged, 1,739 untraded, and 27 others suspended.
Turnover was 220.18 million units worth RM83.38 million. – Bernama, June 2, 2023
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