KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit eased against the US dollar on Friday as the greenback gained momentum following stronger United States economic data.
At 8.05 am, the local note depreciated to 4.2200/2300 against the US dollar from Thursday’s close at 4.2085/2120.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said a sharp drop in US weekly jobless claims to the lowest level since 2022 had helped ease fears of a meaningful labour-market downturn.
“The positive performance was further supported by a stronger-than-expected revision to second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), which showed the fastest growth pace in nearly two years,” he told Bernama.
Innes said together those data points undercut concerns that President Donald Trump’s trade and tariff policies would derail the US economy, and instead reinforced the view that the country remains on solid footing.
“Against this backdrop, the ringgit will likely face renewed selling pressure, with sentiment toward broader emerging markets leaning defensive until there is a clearer read on US inflation and US Federal Reserve policy into October,” said Innes.
Meanwhile, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid expects the ringgit to trade within a narrow range of RM4.21 to RM4.22 today.
He said the US Dollar Index (DXY) continued to strengthen, with final estimates for the second-quarter US GDP revised upwards to 3.8% compared with the previous estimate of 3.3%.
At the opening, the ringgit was higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose to 2.8146/8215 against the Japanese yen from 2.8283/8308 at Thursday’s close, edged up to 4.9197/9313 versus the euro from 4.9429/9470, and firmed to 5.6257/6390 vis-a-vis the British pound from 5.6600/6647.
The local note was mixed against ASEAN currencies.
It advanced to 3.2589/2669 versus the Singapore dollar from 3.2662/2692, and appreciated to 13.0897/1285 against the Thai baht from 13.0959/1133.
However, it slipped against the Philippine peso to 7.26/7.28 from yesterday’s close of 7.24/7.25, and was little changed at 251.9/252.6 against the Indonesian rupiah from 251.2/251.5 previously. – Bernama
