{
  "id": 12050299,
  "title": "Ringgit opens higher as weaker US jobs data weighs on greenback",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/ringgit-opens-higher-as-weaker-us-jobs-data-weighs-on-greenback-12050299",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-05T00:50:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/10/05/ringgit-opens-higher-as-weaker-us-jobs-data-weighs-on-greenback"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar on Monday, as expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate increase were tempered by weaker-than-anticipated US jobs data. At 8am, the ringgit climbed to 4.0805/4.0870 against the US dollar, edging up from its Friday close of 4.0820/4.0870. Afzanizam Rashid, chief economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, commented on the nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report, which showed a modest 29,000 jobs added in September, falling short of the 90,000 expected by analysts. The US unemployment rate nudged up to 4.2% in September, from the previous two months' flat 4.1%. Rashid suggested this may dissuade the Fed from raising interest rates at their upcoming meeting on Oct 27-28. The ringgit traded higher against most major currencies at the market open. It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5867/2.5910, the euro to 4.5918/4.5991, while slipping against the British pound to 5.4030/5.4116. However, it weakened against regional currencies like the Singapore dollar to 3.1891/3.1945 and the Thai baht to 12.1516/12.1764. The local note remained steady against the Philippine peso at 6.52/6.54 and the Indonesian rupiah at 228.2/228.6.",
  "summary": "The local note rises to 4.0805/4.0870 as expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate hike ease.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Ringgit opens higher as weaker US jobs data weighs on greenback",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/ringgit-opens-higher-as-weaker-us-jobs-data-weighs-on-greenback",
        "published": "2026-10-05T00:50:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}