KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit held steady against the US dollar at the close today as the United States’ (US) weak job numbers weighed on the greenback’s performance.
At 6 pm, the local currency remained at 4.0885/0930 against the greenback, unchanged since last Friday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that the US non-farm payroll revealed that jobs declined by 23,000 in July.
"Clearly, the case for a September rate hike is not a foregone conclusion, as the weak labour market would help to temper inflationary pressures.
"Hence, the US Consumer Price Index report to be released this Wednesday would be critical for the Federal Open Market Committee members to assess the state of the economy when they meet on Sept 15-16,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the local currency ended mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It inched up against the Japanese yen to 2.5736/5766 from 2.5813/5843 at last Friday’s close, but eased against the euro to 4.7247/7299 from 4.7132/7184 last week, and slipped vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.5170/5231 from 5.4949/5010 previously.
Similarly, the ringgit also depreciated against regional currencies.
It declined against the Singapore dollar to 3.1961/2002 from 3.1911/1949 last Friday, and dipped versus the Thai baht to 12.3894/4079 from 12.3665/3843 previously.
The local note also eased against the Philippine peso to 6.73/6.74 from 6.71/6.72 last week, and slid against the Indonesian rupiah to 230.2/230.6 from 228.4/228.7 previously. - Bernama
