Kuala lumpur: The ringgit closed higher against the US dollar today as the greenback weakened following a disappointing United States labor market report released last Friday. At 6 pm, the local note appreciated to 4.2165/2205 from last Thursday's close of 4.2260/2320, despite the market closure on Friday for the Maulidur Rasul holiday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the weaker-than-expected US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report for August has bolstered the argument for a potential interest rate cut when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets next week. Dr. Mohd Afzanizam explained that the Fed officials are currently in a blackout period, restricting them from sharing their views publicly a week before the FOMC meeting. As a result, traders and investors are left with limited data, primarily focusing on the Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Despite the ringgit's performance against the US dollar, it closed lower against a basket of major currencies. The ringgit depreciated against the euro to 4.9430/9477 from 4.9203/9273, slipped versus the yen to 2.8536/8565 from 2.8489/8531, and fell against the pound to 5.6956/7011 from 5.6793/6874 last week. Additionally, the ringgit weakened against ASEAN currencies, dropping against the Singapore dollar to 3.2831/2865 from 3.2775/2824, easing against the baht to 13.2299/2491 from 13.0666/0908, declining versus the rupiah at 258.5/258.8 from 257.3/257.7, and slipping against the peso to 7.43/7.44 from 7.40/7.42 previously.