KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar on the first trading day of May, with the upcoming Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting later this week, developments in the US-Iran conflict and the release of the US non-farm payroll (NFP) data expected to set the tone for the market.

At 8am, the domestic unit gained against the greenback to 3.9590/9725 from 3.9690/9740 at last Thursday’s close.

The local market was closed on Friday in conjunction with the Labour Day public holiday.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the BNM’s MPC members will decide the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) on May 7.

“Most economists expect the OPR to be unchanged and the latest assessment on the Iran war sees no signs of ebbing while crude oil prices remain elevated,” he added.

“There is also the NFP data points in the US on Friday which is quite critical for US Federal Reserves decision on rates. In that sense, we expect to ringgit to maintain its narrow range posture as market sentiments will remain cautious,” he told Bernama.

Mohd Afzanizam expects US dollar-ringgit to range between RM3.95 and RM3.97 today.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

It eased against the Japanese yen to 2.5226/5315 from 2.4907/4942 at the close on Thursday, traded almost flat against the euro at 4.6415/6574 from 4.6417/6476 and slipped versus the British pound to 5.3759/3943 from 5.3593/3661 previously.

The local currency was mixed against regional peers.

It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.1095/1206 from 3.1061/1103 at Thursday’s close, fell against the Thai baht to 12.1812/2306 from 12.1711/1932 yesterday, but was marginally higher against the Indonesian rupiah at 228.3/229.2 from 228.7/229.2 and the Philippine peso at 6.44/4/6.47 from 6.45/6.47 previously. — Bernama