Kuala Lumpur: The ringgit concluded the trading session marginally lower against the US dollar on Friday, influenced by a stronger US Dollar Index (DXY) as market participants awaited the release of the US Nonfarm Payroll (NFP) data later in the evening, according to an analyst.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the ringgit was positioned at 4.2270/2360 against the greenback by 6 pm, a slight decrease from Thursday's close of 4.2245/2295. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's chief economist, Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, noted that the DXY saw an increase of 0.14 percent to 98.884 points, as expectations leaned towards a payroll increase of 126,000 in May, a reduction from April's 177,000.
Dr. Mohd Afzanizam explained, "The ringgit versus the US dollar exchange oscillates around RM4.22 to RM4.23 today. Compared to yesterday, the ringgit depreciated slightly by 0.09 percent to RM4.2310." He added that the ringgit has shown resilience over the week, gaining 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes remarked on the ringgit's structural strength, citing subsiding US-China tariff tensions and continuous foreign capital inflows into Malaysian debt and foreign exchange deposits. He expressed, "Foreign investor interest remains strong, suggesting that any ringgit weakness driven by the US dollar is likely to attract buyers swiftly."
At the market's close, the ringgit demonstrated a mostly positive performance against a variety of major currencies. It appreciated against the Japanese yen, moving to 2.9324/9390 from the previous 2.9495/9531, and strengthened against the British pound to 5.7212/7334 from 5.7301/7369. However, it saw a slight decline against the euro, settling at 4.8268/8371 from 4.8235/8292.
In regional markets, the ringgit showed a mixed performance against its ASEAN counterparts. It edged up versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2862/2934 from 3.2881/2922, gained against the Thai baht to 12.9599/9947 from 12.9925/13.0138, and inched up against the Philippine peso to 7.58/7.60 from 7.59/7.61. Conversely, it fell against the Indonesian rupiah to 259.5/260.2 from 259.3/259.8.