Ringgit opens higher as weaker US jobs data weighs on greenback

The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar on Monday, following reduced expectations of a US Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate hike amid weaker-than-expected US jobs data, which is weighing on the greenback.

At 8am, the ringgit rose to 4.0805/4.0870 against the US dollar from Friday’s close of 4.0820/4.0870.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the latest nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report showed that US job creation was lower than expected, with only 29,000 jobs added in September versus the consensus estimate of 90,000.

“The US unemployment rate also increased slightly to 4.2% in September, after staying at 4.1% for the previous two months.

“This suggests that the Fed may decide not to raise interest rates at its upcoming meeting on Oct 27-28,” he noted.

The ringgit traded higher against most major currencies at the opening.

It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.5867/2.5910 from 2.5906/2.5941 at Friday’s close and strengthened against the euro to 4.5918/4.5991 from 4.5927/4.5983. However, it weakened against the British pound to 5.4030/5.4116 from 5.3927/5.3993.

Against regional currencies, the ringgit traded mixed.

It strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1891/3.1945 from 3.1908/3.1952 at Friday’s close and rose against the Thai baht to 12.1516/12.1764 from 12.1579/12.1778.

The local note was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.52/6.54 and the Indonesian rupiah at 228.2/228.6.