KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — The ringgit is likely to weaken to the 4.13 level against the US dollar next week as the American economy recorded higher employment figures in May, said an analyst.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the domestic unit was further weighed by the move taken by US President Joe Biden to restrict American investments in 59 Chinese companies with alleged ties to the country's military and surveillance efforts.
“Among the 59 companies barred are technology companies such as Fujian Torch Electron Technology and Huawei Technologies. As a result, jitters emerged regarding demand for Malaysia's semiconductor components from China,” he told Bernama.
Adam added that any unchanged tone from Biden regarding the restrictions on China companies would contribute further to the ringgit’s weakness next week.
On Friday, the US Labour Department reported higher payrolls by 559,000 in May after a revised 278,000 gain in April, while the jobless rate dropped to 5.8 per cent.
On a weekly basis, the ringgit appreciated versus the US dollar to 4.1275/1285 from 4.1320/1350 a week earlier.
The local note was higher against other major currencies.
It strengthened against the yen to 3.7482/7494 from 3.7598/7629 a week earlier, and increased versus the British pound to 5.8313/8327 from 5.8604/8651 previously.
The ringgit rose against the euro to 5.0013/0025 from 5.0344/0385 and strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1076/1086 from 3.1213/1238 in the preceding week.
— Bernama
