KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 — The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar as a relatively solid US jobs data saw the greenback continued to gain traction.
At 9am, the ringgit was quoted at 4.1220/1250 against the US dollar from 4.1150/1200 on Wednesday.
AxiCorp’s chief market strategist Stephen Innes said robust US economic data has lessens the likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, thus supporting the greenback, which harms Asian currencies.
Payroll processor ADP reported that US private sector employment increased by 291,000 jobs in January, its highest rate since May 2015.
“While it’s hard to ignore that global risk markets are starting to prices in peak novel coronavirus fear, economies and their currencies, as well as stock markets with keen trade linkages into China like Malaysia (ringgit & FBM KLCI), may continue to struggle through the early part of the year as the doomy knock-on effect from the China economic slow down hit home,” he added.
Locally, he said, key economic data rolls to be released at the end is much crucial, which should capture the local effects the virus has had on export.
Against other major currencies, the ringgit was traded mostly higher, except the yen.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 2.9768/9801 from 2.9817/9857 on Wednesday but depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.7520/7558 from 3.7511/7560 yesterday.
The local currency was also stronger against the euro to 4.5321/5371 from 4.5364/5435 and firmer against the British pound to 4.5321/5371 from 5.3767/3836 previously. — Bernama
