KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar on a lack of buying interest, as the US Dollar Index (DXY) rebounded, surpassing the 105-point level.
An analyst said that the DXY gain, the first since May 29, 2024, was influenced by stronger United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data released last Friday.
At 6 pm, the ringgit decreased to 4.7210/7250 against the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.6900/6940.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said last week’s NFP has altered the course for the US Dollar as market participants erred on the side of caution ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on June 11-12 this week.
"The ringgit was trading around 4.7180 after hovering around 4.7000 in the past weeks. Whether such trend will hold (or not), it will greatly hinge upon the Federal Reserve’s latest economic projection or the ‘dot plots’,” he told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local unit strengthened versus the Japanese yen to 3.0089/0117 from Friday’s 3.0163/0190, rose vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.9943/9993 from 6.0009/0060 previously, and went up against the euro at 5.0722/0765 from 5.1079/1122.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against its ASEAN peers.
The local note weakened versus the Philippine peso to 8.03/8.04 from 8.01/8.02 at Friday’s close, inched down against the Singapore dollar to 3.4875/4907 compared with 3.4872/4905 and slipped to 289.9/290.3 vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah from 289.5/289.9.
However, it improved against the Thai baht to 12.8211/8372 from last week’s close of 12.8465/8627. - Bernama
