RINGGIT OPENS HIGHER AGAINST US DOLLAR AS GREENBACK WEAKENS

By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid

KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 (Bernama) -- The ringgit continued its uptrend from last Friday’s closing to open higher today amid the weakening greenback and lower US Treasury yields, analysts said.

At 9 am, the ringgit was higher at 4.7330/7400 versus the greenback from last Friday’s close of 4.7370/7400.

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Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit should be in a better position today owing to the lower than expected US Nonfarm Payroll (NFP) data last Friday.

“The data supports the view that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is on track to cut rates this year.

“This will provide support for emerging market currencies including the ringgit,” he told Bernama.

It was reported that the US Treasury yields slipped about seven basis points to 4.5 per cent on Friday after the US April jobs report showed weaker-than-expected payrolls growth and an unexpected tick higher in the unemployment rate.

At the opening bell, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It appreciated versus the Japanese yen to  3.0850/0900 from 3.0947/0968 at Friday’s close, strengthened vis-a-vis the British pound to  5.9404/9492 from 5.9487/9525 but eased against the euro to 5.0960/1036 from 5.0890/0922 previously.

The local note was traded mixed against ASEAN currencies.

It gained versus the Thai baht to 12.8702/8969 from 12.8723/8850 on Friday and slightly increased vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 294.2/294.8 from 294.4/294.8 previously.

The ringgit lost ground versus the Singapore dollar to 3.5051/5106 from 3.5027/5054 on Friday and weakened against the Philippine peso to 8.27/8.30 from 8.25/8.27 a week earlier.

-- BERNAMA