KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit is expected to trade within the 4.04 to 4.07 range this week, with the balance of risks tilted modestly towards a firmer ringgit as global investors rotate away from the dollar and back into emerging-market carry and growth exposure, an analyst says.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist, Mohd Sedek Jantan, told Bernama that the ringgit’s direction will be shaped by how the latest US non-farm payrolls ( P) report feeds into US Federal Reserve (Fed) expectations.
He noted the December 2025 payroll growth came in at just 50,000 jobs, less than the consensus estimates of 60,000 jobs, while two-month net revisions subtracted 76,000 jobs, confirming that US labour-market momentum had weakened materially into year-end.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.4%, reflecting tightening labour supply rather than stronger hiring, reinforcing the late-cycle slowdown narrative rather than a re-acceleration in growth, Mohd Sedek said.
“With the P data undershooting consensus, it also aligns with our in-house view that the Fed is likely to skip a rate cut at this month’s meeting, while keeping the door open to easing later as labour conditions continue to soften,” he said.
