KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar today as the greenback retreated following the release of the United States’ (US) economic data which came in below expectations, as well as the improvement in risk appetite, said an analyst.
At 9 am, the local note stood at 4.6350/6385 against the greenback from 4.6445/6475 at Tuesday’s close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US job openings fell to 8.827 million in July against consensus estimates of 9.465 million.
He noted that the figure has also been on a declining trend after reaching a peak of 11.012 million in December 2022, suggesting demand for labour by the employer is waning.
“This would support the notion of softening in the labour market amidst weaker business sentiments as reflected by the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI),” he said.
Consequently, he pointed out that the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell 0.56 per cent to 103.477 points while the 10-year US Treasury yield dropped eight basis points to 4.12 per cent with three-month yield also declining four basis points to 5.43 per cent.
“As such, the ringgit versus the US dollar could be experiencing some appreciation as the data points to supporting the view that the Federal Reserve might be less hawkish going forward. We expect the local note to reach between RM4.63 and RM4.64 today against the greenback,” he told Bernama.
On another note, ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz shared that the downward movement of the US dollar was due to the consumer confidence data in the US, which came in lower than expected at 106.1 real against 116 as forecast.
“As this indicator measures the level of consumer confidence in economic activity, it is a good way to predict the impact that household consumption will have on the US Gross Domestic Product.
“With some specialists are already pointing to a possible scenario of higher inflation in the US, falling consumer confidence hints at a possible devaluation of the US dollar in the short to medium term,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ringgit also opened lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local note decreased versus the euro to 5.0382/0420 from 5.0221/0253 at Tuesday’s close, eased against the British pound to 5.8591/8635 from 5.8590/8628, and declined against the Japanese yen to 3.1771/1797 from 3.1688/1711 yesterday.
At the same time, the ringgit traded mixed against other Asean currencies.
It slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.4326/4354 from 3.4297/4322 at Tuesday’s close, and depreciated vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 13.2353/2510 from 13.2171/2324 previously.
However, the local currency was higher against the Indonesian rupiah at 303.6/304.1 from 304.3/304.7 on Tuesday and was also better against the Philippine peso at 8.17/8.19 from 8.18/8.19.
US dollar falls
The US dollar lost in late trading on Tuesday, as the US labour market was cooling and consumer confidence retreated, reported Xinhua.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, decreased 0.50 per cent to 103.5332 in late trading.
The number of job openings in July stood at 8.82 million, the lowest level since March 2021, the US Labour Department reported on Tuesday.
It followed 9.16 million job openings in June and came in below the market expectation of 9.46 million, indicating Americans were becoming less confident in the labour market.
“Over the month, the number of hires and total separations changed little at 5.8 million and 5.5 million, respectively,” the report said.
The US dollar came under selling pressure with the immediate reaction.
Meanwhile, The Conference Board released its consumer confidence index on Tuesday, which gauges Americans’ attitudes toward the economy and job market, fell to a reading of 106.1 in August, down from 114 in July, reversing the improvements made in the summer.
“August’s disappointing headline number reflected dips in both the current conditions and expectations indexes. Write-in responses showed that consumers were once again preoccupied with rising prices in general, and for groceries and gasoline in particular,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board.
In late New York trading, the euro rose to US$1.0871 from US$1.0812 in the previous session, and the British pound was up to US$1.2632 from US$1.2600.
The US dollar bought 145.8550 Japanese yen, lower than 146.5060 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar fell to 0.8787 Swiss francs from 0.8840 Swiss francs, and it fell to 1.3564 Canadian dollars from 1.3604 Canadian dollars. The US dollar decreased to 10.8714 Swedish krona from 10.9973 Swedish krona.
Short-terms rates remain stable
Short-term rates are expected to remain stable today on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) operations to absorb surplus liquidity from the financial system.
Liquidity is estimated at RM35.93 billion in the conventional system and RM20.76 billion in Islamic funds.
Today, the central bank will conduct two reverse repo tenders, comprising a RM1.5 billion tender for 30 days and a RM500 million tender for 92 days.
BNM also announced the availability of reverse repo, sale and buy-back agreements as well as collateralised commodity murabahah facilities for tenors of one to three months.
At 4 pm, it will conduct up to RM37.9 billion conventional overnight tender and RM20.8 billion for murabahah overnight tender.
Foreign exchange rates
Following are the opening Malaysian foreign exchange for major currencies today:
1 USD 4.6350/6385
100 yen 3.1771/1797
1 pound 5.8591/8635
1 euro 5.0382/0420
1 SGD 3.4326/4354
100 baht 13.2353/2510
1 mln rupiah 303.6/304.1
100 pesos 8.17/8.19
Exchange rates issued By Malayan Banking Bhd
| SELLING TT/OD | BUYING TT | BUYING OD | |
| 1 US Dollar | 4.7015 | 4.5685 | 4.5740 |
| 1 Australian Dollar | 3.0640 | 2.9440 | 2.9130 |
| 1 Brunei Dollar | 3.4820 | 3.3820 | 3.3730 |
| 1 Canadian Dollar | 3.4650 | 3.3740 | 3.3620 |
| 1 Euro | 5.1210 | 4.9560 | 4.9330 |
| 1 New Zealand Dollar | 2.8180 | 2.7150 | 2.6800 |
| 1 Papua N Guinea Kina | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1 Singapore Dollar | 3.4820 | 3.3820 | 3.3730 |
| 1 Sterling Pound | 5.9520 | 5.7680 | 5.7480 |
| 1 Swiss Franc | 5.3370 | 5.2160 | 5.1750 |
| 100 UAE Dirham | 129.5800 | 122.9000 | 123.1100 |
| 100 Bangladesh Taka | 4.3710 | 4.1020 | 3.9160 |
| 100 Chinese Renminbi | 64.6000 | 62.2000 | N/A |
| 100 Danish Krone | 70.4200 | 64.8300 | 64.5900 |
| 100 Hongkong Dollar | 60.5900 | 57.6000 | 57.5900 |
| 100 Indian Rupee | 5.7900 | 5.4400 | 5.2500 |
| 100 Indonesian Rupiah | 0.0319 | 0.0289 | 0.0239 |
| 100 Japanese Yen | 3.2260 | 3.1250 | 3.1100 |
| 100 New Taiwan Dollar | 15.8000 | N/A | N/A |
| 100 Norwegian Krone | 45.6200 | 41.9800 | 41.4200 |
| 100 Pakistan Rupee | 1.5800 | 1.4700 | 1.2800 |
| 100 Philippine Peso | 8.4100 | 7.9300 | 7.7700 |
| 100 Qatar Riyal | 130.5500 | 123.9300 | 124.1300 |
| 100 Saudi Riyal | 126.8100 | 120.3900 | 120.5900 |
| 100 South Africa Rand | 26.3600 | 23.8200 | 23.5700 |
| 100 Sri Lanka Rupee | 1.5100 | 1.3800 | 1.1800 |
| 100 Swedish Krona | 44.5800 | 40.6300 | 40.2400 |
| 100 Thai Baht | 14.0300 | 12.4500 | 12.0200 |
Gold up
The physical price of gold as at 9.30 am stood at RM279.25 per gramme, up RM1.52 from RM277.73 at 5 pm yesterday. – BERNAMA
