KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed slightly lower against the US dollar today, suggesting a tight-range mode as market players awaited the US non-farm payrolls data tonight, in particular the average hourly earnings, said an analyst.
At 6pm, the local note fell to 4.5180/4.5220 versus the greenback compared to yesterday’s closing rate of 4.5170/4.5200.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd head of economics, market analysis and social finance Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the average hourly earnings were expected to increase by 4.7% year-on-year in February 2023 from 4.4% in the preceding month.
“Higher wage growth would mean the US Federal Reserve is likely to tighten its grip on monetary policy which could possibly deliver a 50-basis point hike in the upcoming meeting on March 21-22,” he told Bernama.
The ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local note depreciated versus the British pound to 5.4148/5.4196 from 5.3608/5.3643 at Thursday’s close and weakened vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7823/4.7865 from 4.7690/4.7722 previously. However, it rose against the Japanese yen to 3.3038/3.3070 from 3.3160/3.3184 yesterday.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mixed against Asean currencies.
The local note advanced against the Indonesian rupiah to 292.30/292.80 from 292.70/292.90 at yesterday’s close and increased versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3316/3.3351 from 3.3405/3.3432.
However, it depreciated against the Thai baht to 12.8894/12.9064 from 12.8814/12.8962 previously and eased vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 8.19/8.20 from 8.18/8.18. - FMT
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