Kuala Lumpur: The ringgit eased against the greenback at the close on Wednesday after the United States posted stronger economic data. At 6 pm, the local note edged lower to 4.2435/2490 versus the US dollar from Tuesday's close of 4.2425/2485.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's chief economist, Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, stated that stronger-than-expected US job openings in April lifted optimism about the American economy's resilience and helped lift the dollar. US job openings rose 191,000 to 7.391 million by the last day of April, beating a forecast of 7.10 million vacancies.
Dr. Rashid also noted that another data point would be released in the United States later that night. The US Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Index for the services sector was expected to rise to 52 points in May from 51.6 points in April based on consensus estimates. Despite this, the US Dollar Index (DXY) continued to hover below 100 points, with the DXY index lingering around 99.145 points, down 0.08 percent from the previous close.
Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, commented that traders were increasing interest in US assets, easing short term pressure on the dollar as expectations for interest rates shifted slightly. He also mentioned quiet signs from Shanghai, via the US Chamber of Commerce president, suggesting that China might be starting to relax restrictions on rare earth exports, leading markets to hope for a potential breakthrough or a pause in current trade tensions between the US and China.
At the close, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies. It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.9444/9486 from Tuesday's close of 2.9695/9739, gained vis- -vis the euro to 4.8300/8362 from 4.8415/8484, but depreciated against the British pound to 5.7427/7502 from 5.7337/7418 previously.
The local note also traded mostly higher against its ASEAN peers. It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.2906/2951 from 3.2967/3016 on Tuesday, advanced versus the Thai baht to 12.9679/9911 from 13.0334/0603, and edged higher vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 7.60/7.62 from 7.61/7.63. However, it traded slightly lower versus the Indonesian rupiah at 260.4/260.8 compared to 260.1/260.6 on Tuesday.