Ringgit ends marginally lower against US dollar after strong US jobs data
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed slightly lower on Monday after the United States posted strong non-farm payrolls (NFP) data and ahead of a US inflation report later this week.
Malaysia's currency, the ringgit, experienced a marginal decline against the US dollar on Monday following robust non-farm payrolls data released by the United States. The US payrolls data for August was reported at 162,000, significantly higher than the anticipated 55,000, according to the wire material. By 6 PM, the ringgit had slipped to 4.0440/0485 against the US dollar, down from Friday's close of 4.0425/0465.
Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, Chief Economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, highlighted that market observers are keenly watching the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) announcement scheduled for Friday. This CPI report will play a pivotal role in shaping market sentiment, as Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members will convene the following week to deliberate on the Federal Funds Rate.
The next FOMC meeting is set for September 15-16. Throughout the day, the ringgit also depreciated against a range of major currencies, including the euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Philippine peso, Singapore dollar, Thai baht, and Indonesian rupiah.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
