Ringgit Ends Flat Against US Dollar

By Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 (Bernama) -- The ringgit traded flat against the US dollar at Friday’s close, pressured by profit-taking as traders locked in gains accumulated earlier.

However, the decline was capped by weaker US economic data which continued to support demand for emerging-market currencies, including the ringgit.

At 6 pm, the ringgit stood nearly unchanged at 3.9440/9525 against the greenback compared with Thursday's close of 3.9440/9535.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said traders may have taken profits despite softer US data, particularly indicators pointing to a weakening labour market.

Citing payrolls processing firm ADP’s National Employment Report, he noted that the ADP Employment Change, which measures private-sector employment, rose by only 22,000 in January, falling short of the consensus estimate of 46,000 and lower than the December figure of 37,000.

“Nevertheless, the ringgit experienced choppy trading today, with the US dollar-ringgit pair rising to as high as 3.9670 during the morning session before easing to hover around 3.9523 in the afternoon,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

It gained versus the Japanese yen to 2.5111/5167 from 2.5068/5130 at Thursday’s close but depreciated vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.3548/3663 from 5.3496/3625 yesterday and slipped against the euro to 4.6508/6608 from 4.6460/6572 previously.

The local note was also mostly lower against its ASEAN peers.

The ringgit strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 233.6/234.3 from 234.1/234.8 at the previous close.

However, it declined vis-à-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.0965/1034 from 3.0943/1020 at Thursday’s close, fell versus the Thai baht to 12.4609/4933 from 12.3955/4320 yesterday and eased against the Philippine peso to 6.73/6.75 from 6.72/6.74 previously.

-- BERNAMA