This was influenced by the dollar gaining momentum following last week’s US nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report indicating a better nonfarm employment situation in the US.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the better-than-expected NFP data last Friday might have supported the US dollar as it might imply that the US Federal Reserve may not switch gears so soon.
He said the Bank of Japan’s assertion for excessive monetary policy accommodation also resulted in a strong dollar.
“Against such a backdrop, most emerging market currencies are weaker against the US dollar including the ringgit.
“We believe such a trend would continue until we see further clarity in the direction of the US interest rate in 2024,” he told Bernama.
He further said that the ringgit is expected to stay in range-bound trading of around RM4.68 in the immediate terms.
At 6pm, the ringgit fell to 4.6805/4.6850 against the greenback from last Friday’s close of 4.6625/4.6665.
At the close, the ringgit was weaker versus a basket of major currencies.
It was traded easier against the British pound at 5.8782/5.8839 from 5.8542/5.8593 at last Friday’s close and fell vis-a-vis the euro to 5.0414/5.0462 from 5.0243/5.0286 previously.
However, the ringgit strengthened against the Japanese yen to 3.2034/3.2067 from 3.2307/3.2337 previously.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mixed against other Asean currencies.
It was flat versus the Philippine peso at 8.41/8.42 compared with last Friday’s 8.41/8.43, increased against the Thai baht to 13.1103/13.1306 from 13.1933/13.2094, and strengthened further against the Indonesian rupiah to 299.6/299.9 from 300.4/300.8 previously.
The local currency was slightly lower versus the Singapore dollar to 3.4830/3.4866 from 3.4818/3.4853. - FMT
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