Weaker US jobs data lifts Malaysian ringgit
The Malaysian ringgit started the week stronger against the US dollar, buoyed by weaker-than-anticipated US jobs data. The data dampened expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike, putting downward pressure on the greenback.
At 8am on Monday, the ringgit climbed to 4.0805/4.0870 against the US dollar from Friday’s close of 4.0820/4.0870. Afzanizam Rashid, chief economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, noted that the latest nonfarm payrolls report showed only 29,000 jobs were added in September, far below the consensus estimate of 90,000. The US unemployment rate also ticked up to 4.2%, suggesting the Fed may skip a rate hike at its upcoming meeting on October 27-28.
The ringgit gained ground against most major currencies. It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5867/2.5910 and the euro to 4.5918/4.5991 but weakened against the British pound to 5.4030/5.4116. Regionally, the ringgit rose against the Singapore dollar and Thai baht but remained unchanged against the Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah.