Kuala lumpur: The ringgit opened marginally higher against the US dollar amidst improving United States economic data, which supported the greenback, said an analyst. At 8 am, the local note rose to 4.2125/2280 against the greenback, from Thursday’s close of 4.2195/2255.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the ringgit remains well-supported, underpinned by the government’s commitment to ongoing fiscal reforms such as the sales and service tax (SST) and RON95 subsidies rationalisation. “The foreign interest in Malaysian Government Securities (MGS) and Government Investment Issue (GII) has also been quite positive,” he told Bernama.

On the performance of the dollar, Mohd Afzanizam mentioned that the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose 0.42 percent to 97.18 points as the latest jobs report indicates a resilient US labour market. He added that the US economy’s resilience has led to lower expectations for an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve (Fed). “The two-year US Treasury note yielded 10 basis points higher to 3.88 percent,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. It advanced against the Japanese yen to 2.9098/9207 from 2.9333/9376, appreciated versus the British pound to 5.7568/7780 from 5.7621/7703, and rose against the euro to 4.9577/9759 from 4.9756/9827 yesterday.

The local note also traded higher against its ASEAN counterparts. It improved vis- -vis the Singapore dollar to 3.3057/3182 from 3.3146/3196, went up against the Thai baht to 12.9835/13.0421 from 13.0211/0457, and strengthened against the Philippine peso to 7.48/7.52 from 7.50/7.51. However, it was almost flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 260.0/261.1 from 260.5/261.0 at yesterday’s close.