Ringgit snaps two-day winning streak to open lower versus US dollar - Economist

KUALA LUMPUR - The ringgit retreated from two consecutive days of gains to open lower against the US dollar on Thursday, amidst softening data points, said an economist.

At 9 am, the local note fell to 4.4030/4070 versus the US dollar from Wednesday’s closing rate of 4.3970/4020.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) rebounded by 0.32 per cent to 101.91 points.

"The United States’ purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the services sector in March had declined to 51.2 points from 55.1 points previously, against the consensus estimate of 54.5 points.

"Similarly, the ADP employment change which gauges job creation in the private sector fell to 145,000 in March (February: 242,000) against the market’s expectation of 200,000," he told Bernama.

Other major currencies such as the euro and British pound (GBP) also eased against the greenback, declining by 0.01 per cent and 0.31 per cent to US$1.09 and US$1.24, respectively.

"Against such a backdrop, the dollar-ringgit (USD/MYR) could linger around RM4.40 during the day as market participants may have become wary about the strength of the global economy.

"So far, the data points from PMI indices indicate the global economy has been softening, implying that central banks could turn dovish in the periods to come," added Mohd Afzanizam.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It rose vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7962/8005 from 4.8156/8211 at Wednesday’s close and inched up versus the British pound to 5.4804/4854 from 5.4879/4941 previously, but depreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.3567/3600 compared with 3.3399/3440 at yesterday’s close.

At the same time, the ringgit traded mixed against Asean currencies.

It increased slightly versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3135/3170 from 3.3165/3205 at Wednesday’s close and gained against the Thai baht to 12.9439/9618 from 12.9782/9991 previously.

However, the local note fell vis-a-vis the Philippines peso at 8.09/8.10 from 8.08/8.09 yesterday and eased versus the Indonesian rupiah to 294.80/295.20 from 294.40/294.90. - BERNAMA