Ringgit Ends Lower Against US Dollar Ahead Of US Jobs Data, Tariff Ruling

By Engku Shariful Azni Engku Ab Latif

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 (Bernama) -- The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar on Friday, as markets moved into a cautious holding pattern ahead of tonight’s US non-farm payrolls release and a possible Supreme Court ruling on US President Donald Trump-era tariffs, an analyst said.

At 6 pm, the local currency slid to 4.0700/0765 versus the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.0580/0650.

However, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist, Mohd Sedek Jantan, said the US dollar’s support has been driven less by outright risk aversion and more by a reassessment of US interest-rate expectations, as investors position for labour data that could delay the start of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) next easing cycle.

“With payroll whispers drifting higher and unemployment expected to stabilise around 4.5 per cent, markets have been inclined to hold the dollar into the event," he told Bernama.

Besides that, Mohd Sedek said, any move by the Supreme Court to strike down the tariffs would ease inflation pressures and lift corporate margins, but could also complicate the US fiscal outlook and reduce the scope for Trump’s proposed stimulus. 

“That combination keeps the Fed focused on growth and employment rather than inflation, reinforcing the dollar’s yield support in the near term and encouraging investors to park funds in safe-haven and high-liquidity currencies ahead of clarity,” he said.

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

It appreciated versus the Japanese yen to 2.5805/5848 from 2.5888/5935 at Thursday’s close and inched up vis-à-vis the euro to 4.7383/7459 from 4.7389/7471 yesterday, but eased against the British pound to 5.4579/4666 from 5.4535/4630 previously.

The local note traded lower against its ASEAN peers.

The ringgit slipped vis-à-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 241.9/242.4 from 241.5/242.1 at Thursday's close and eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.1629/1682 from 3.1602/1659 previously.

It also weakened versus the Thai baht to 12.9474/9738 from 12.8731/9007 yesterday and fell against the Philippine peso to 6.87/6.88 from 6.85/6.87.

-- BERNAMA