KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 — The ringgit touched the 4.12 level at the open today, marking a new high in more than 13 months, buoyed by a softer US dollar following weaker US economic data.
At 8.04am, the ringgit rose to 4.1285/1440 against the US dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.1360/1395.
The local currency strengthened to a more than one-year high, a level last seen on September 30 last year when the local note traded at 4.1210 at the close.
The ringgit also traded stronger against the Singapore dollar at 3.1733, the highest level last seen over three years, as compared with 3.1711 on July 14, 2022.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the latest US Automatic Data Processing (ADP) employment data signalled further cooling in the American labour market.
It was reported that for the four weeks ending October 25, private employers shed an average of 11,250 jobs a week.
“The weaker-than-expected private payroll gains in October have reinforced market confidence that the Federal Reserve’s rate-hiking cycle may have ended, sending the US dollar index lower overnight.
“This shift has improved sentiment towards risk-sensitive Asian currencies, placing the ringgit in a stronger position,” he told Bernama.
With dollar momentum easing and Malaysia’s domestic fundamentals holding steady, Sedek opined that the ringgit’s near-term outlook remains constructive, supported by renewed foreign interest and improving confidence in the local market.
At the open, the ringgit was stronger against a basket of major currencies.
It gained against the yen to 2.6788/6864 from 2.6798/6822 at yesterday’s close and rose versus the euro to 4.7825/7958 from 4.7829/7869. The local note improved against the British pound to 5.4294/4445 from 5.4297/4343 previously.
The local note was mostly higher against Asean currencies.
It strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1733/1824 from 3.1752/1784 at yesterday’s close, climbed against the Philippine peso to 7.00/7.02 from 7.01/7.02
The ringgit also improved against the Thai baht to 12.7427/7892 from 12.7595/7762 and was higher against the Indonesian rupiah at 247.2/248.1 from 247.7/248.0 yesterday.
