Ringgit opens higher against major currencies, slightly lower vs US dollar

The Malaysian ringgit opened higher against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, but slightly lower against the US dollar, as stronger-than-expected US economic data supported the greenback. At 8am, the ringgit fell to 4.0790/4.0860 against the US dollar from Wednesday's closing rate of 4.0785/4.0820. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid noted that the US final gross domestic product growth for Q2 2026 was 2.2%, higher than the 1.5% consensus estimate.

The ADP employment change in September also surpassed expectations, rising to 90,000 from the 73,000 market estimate. This led to a drop in the probability of a rate hike in October, falling from over 70% to below 50%. The US Dollar Index (DXY) initially fell to 101.05 before recovering to 101.37. Afzanizam suggested that markets have reassessed their view on an October rate hike, though it is not entirely ruled out due to the positive labor market data.

The ringgit was expected to trade between RM4.08 and RM4.09 on Thursday, ahead of the release of US non-farm payrolls data on Friday. Against major currencies, the ringgit strengthened against the euro, British pound, and Japanese yen, while remaining stable against the Singapore dollar, Thai baht, and Indonesian rupiah. It remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.51/6.52.