{
  "id": 11069968,
  "title": "Ringgit opens higher against major currencies, slightly lower vs US dollar",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/ringgit-opens-higher-against-major-currencies-slightly-lower-vs-us",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-01T00:33:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/10/01/ringgit-opens-higher-against-major-currencies-slightly-lower-vs-us-dollar"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Thursday, the Malaysian ringgit opened stronger against a basket of major currencies but dipped slightly against the US dollar, according to early trading data. This movement was attributed to the release of stronger-than-expected US economic data, which supported the greenback. By 8am, the ringgit fell to 4.0790/4.0860 against the US dollar, down from its previous close of 4.0785/4.0820 on Wednesday.\n\nAfzanizam Rashid, chief economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, highlighted that the US final gross domestic product growth for the second quarter of 2026 was recorded at 2.2%, surpassing the consensus estimate of 1.5%. Similarly, the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) employment change rose to 90,000 in September, exceeding the market's forecast of 73,000. This positive economic data raised concerns about the likelihood of a rate hike in October, which fell from over 70% to below 50%.\n\nMeanwhile, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, remained steady at 3.4% in August, below the predicted 3.7%. This data prompted reassessment among markets regarding the possibility of a rate hike in October, although it was not entirely ruled out due to the favorable labor market figures.\n\nLooking at the ringgit's performance against other currencies, it appreciated against the euro, British pound, and Japanese yen, while remaining relatively stable against the Singapore dollar, Thai baht, and Indonesian rupiah. The ringgit was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.51/6.52.",
  "summary": "The ringgit edged down to 4.0790/4.0860 as strong US economic data supported the greenback.",
  "key_points": [
    "Malaysian ringgit opens higher against major currencies",
    "US economic data supports greenback, rate hike concerns fall",
    "Ringgit appreciates vs euro, pound, yen, stable vs Singapore dollar"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Ringgit opens higher against major currencies, slightly lower vs US dollar",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/ringgit-opens-higher-against-major-currencies-slightly-lower-vs-us-11071326",
        "published": "2026-10-01T00:33:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Ringgit opens higher against major currencies, lower versus greenback",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/ringgit-opens-higher-against-major-currencies-lower-versus-greenback",
        "published": "2026-10-01T00:44:36.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}