KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 — The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar today, supported by weaker US non-farm payrolls (NFP) data.
At 8 am, the local currency strengthened to 4.0875/0925 against the greenback from Friday's close of 4.0885/0930.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam said US NFP for July fell by 23,000, in stark contrast to the consensus estimate of 88,000 jobs created.
He also noted that the US labour force participation rate (LFPR) had declined for eight consecutive months to 61.4 per cent, while average hourly earnings grew at a moderate pace of 3.2 per cent in July, suggesting that the US labour market was not entirely robust.
Consequently, the odds of an interest rate hike at the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting fell to 43.9 per cent from 57 per cent before the release of the NFP report.
"Still, uncertainties surrounding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz remain the wildcard, which would keep market sentiment in check.
"Hence, it is expected that the ringgit will hover around RM4.07 to RM4.09 today," he said.
Meanwhile, the local currency traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It fell against the Japanese yen to 2.5887/5920 from 2.5813/5843 at Friday's close, slipped against the euro to 4.7239/7297 from 4.7132/7184 and declined against the British pound to 5.5140/5208 from 5.4949/5010 previously.
However, the ringgit traded mixed against regional currencies.
It weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1966/2008 from 3.1911/1949 and eased against the Thai baht to 12.3732/3944 from 12.3665/3843 at Friday's close.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was little changed against the Philippine peso at 6.70/6.72 from 6.71/6.72 and was flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 228.4/228.7.
