KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar this morning, as the local currency received some support after the US dollar index (DXY) declined to 106.773 points in anticipation of the release of the United States (US) Nonfarm Payroll (NFP) data tomorrow.
At 9 am, the local note rose to 4.7220/7300 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.7285/7320.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama that market participants remained cautious ahead of the announcement on the US NFP, with the consensus estimating it to come in at 153,000.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded easier versus a basket of major currencies.
It went down against the yen to 3.1787/1843 from Wednesday’s close of 3.1703/1729, declined against the euro to 4.9680/9764 from 4.9645/9681 yesterday and depreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.7377/7474 from 5.7343/7385 previously.
At the same time, the local note was traded mostly lower against other Asian currencies.
The ringgit rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 301.9/302.6 from 302.4/302.8 on Wednesday but decreased versus the Thai baht to 12.8138/8393 from 12.7549/7685 yesterday.
It had also declined against the Philippines’ peso to 8.34/8.35 from Wednesday’s close of 8.31/8.32 and was flat against the Singapore dollar at 3.4462/4523 from 3.4462/4492 previously.
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 RM32.47 billion in the conventional system and RM26.46 billion in Islamic funds.
Today, the central bank will conduct two conventional money market tenders, namely a RM1 billion tender for seven days and a RM500 million tender for 14 days.
It will also call for two Qard tenders, comprising a RM400 million tender for seven days and a RM200 million tender for 14 days, as well as two reverse repo tenders, consisting of a RM1.5 billion tender for 32 days and a RM500 million tender for 92 days.
The central bank will also be issuing a RM3 billion Bank Negara Interbank Bills tender for 32 days on Oct 9.
BNM also announced the availability of reverse repo, sale and buy-back agreements and collateralised commodity Murabahah facilities for one-month and three-month tenors.
At 4 pm, it will conduct up to RM32.0 billion conventional overnight tender and RM25.9 billion for the Murabahah overnight tender.
Foreign exchange rates
Following are the opening Malaysian foreign exchange for major currencies today:
1 USD 4.7220/7300
100 yen 3.1787/1843
1 pound 5.7377/7474
1 euro 4.9680/9764
1 SGD 3.4462/4523
100 baht 12.8138/8393
1 mln rupiah 301.9/302.6
100 pesos 8.32/8.36
Exchange rates issued by Malayan Banking Bhd
| SELLING TT/OD | BUYING TT | BUYING OD | |
| 1 US Dollar | 4.7940 | 4.6580 | 4.6480 |
| 1 Australian Dollar | 3.0530 | 2.9310 | 2.9150 |
| 1 Brunei Dollar | 3.4960 | 3.3940 | 3.3860 |
| 1 Canadian Dollar | 3.4850 | 3.3910 | 3.3790 |
| 1 Euro | 5.0480 | 4.8830 | 4.8630 |
| 1 New Zealand Dollar | 2.8490 | 2.7430 | 2.7270 |
| 1 Papua N Guinea Kina | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1 Singapore Dollar | 3.4960 | 3.3940 | 3.3860 |
| 1 Sterling Pound | 5.8290 | 5.6450 | 5.6250 |
| 1 Swiss Franc | 5.2180 | 5.0980 | 5.0830 |
| 100 UAE Dirham | 132.1500 | 125.2800 | 125.0800 |
| 100 Bangladesh Taka | 4.4340 | 4.1430 | 3.9430 |
| 100 Chinese Renminbi | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 100 Danish Krone | 69.3800 | 63.8400 | 63.6400 |
| 100 Hongkong Dollar | 61.9300 | 58.8400 | 58.6400 |
| 100 Indian Rupee | 5.8600 | 5.5000 | 5.3000 |
| 100 Indonesian Rupiah | 0.0318 | 0.0287 | 0.0237 |
| 100 Japanese Yen | 3.2260 | 3.1230 | 3.1130 |
| 100 New Taiwan Dollar | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 100 Norwegian Krone | 44.7100 | 41.1100 | 40.9100 |
| 100 Pakistan Rupee | 1.7200 | 1.6100 | 1.4100 |
| 100 Philippine Peso | 8.5900 | 8.0900 | 7.8900 |
| 100 Qatar Riyal | 133.0000 | 126.2600 | 126.0600 |
| 100 Saudi Riyal | 129.3200 | 122.7700 | 122.5700 |
| 100 South Africa Rand | 25.6700 | 23.1800 | 22.9800 |
| 100 Sri Lanka Rupee | 1.5200 | 1.4000 | 1.2000 |
| 100 Swedish Krona | 44.7100 | 40.7100 | 40.5100 |
| 100 Thai Baht | 13.5800 | 12.0400 | 11.6400 |
Gold down
The physical price of gold as at 9.30 am stood at RM268.26 per gramme, down two sen from RM268.28 at 5 pm yesterday. – BERNAMA
