Ringgit closes lower ahead of key US economic data

 One of the key US data points to watch tonight is the job openings and labor turnover survey, says analyst.

KUALA LUMPUR:

The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar today as market participants stayed cautious ahead of key US economic data due later tonight.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the key US data points to watch for tonight are the job openings and labor turnover survey (JOLTS) and the conference board consumer confidence index.

“The US dollar has been well supported, with the US Dollar Index (DXY) rising 0.23% to 101.338 points,” he told Bernama.

Afzanizam said the ringgit had strengthened against the US dollar in the earlier part of the day to the RM4.04 level before retreating to around RM4.08.

At 6pm, the local currency depreciated to 4.0825/4.0870 versus the greenback from 4.0680/4.0735 at yesterday’s close.

At the close, the ringgit fell against a basket of major currencies.

It eased versus the British pound to 5.4036/5.4096 from 5.3767/5.3839 at yesterday’s close, slid against the euro to 4.6528/4.6580 from 4.6383/4.6446 yesterday, and weakened vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.5154/2.5183 from 2.5128/2.5164 previously.

The local currency performed mixed against regional currencies.

It slipped versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1532/3.1570 from 3.1445/3.1490 yesterday and decreased against the Thai baht to 12.2874/12.3084 from 12.2199/12.2412.

However, the ringgit was almost unchanged versus the Indonesian rupiah at 227.9/228.3 compared with 227.8/228.3 at yesterday’s close, and with the Philippine peso at 6.65/6.67 compared with 6.65/6.66 previously. - FMT