KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar in early trade today as the market is focusing on the upcoming United States (US) Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) figure, scheduled for release tonight.
At 9.10 am, the local note rose to 4.5395/5485 against the greenback compared with 4.5535/5570 at Thursday’s close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the consensus believes that the NFP for July 2023 might be slightly lower at 200,000 compared to 209,000 in June.
“The US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) stance is data-dependent and if the NFP data turns out weak, it may prompt a pause in their rate hike campaign.
“However, the timing of any potential changes in the Fed’s position is uncertain,” he told Bernama, while projecting the ringgit to trade within a narrow range of RM4.54-RM4.55 today.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 3.1809/1875 from 3.1849/1876 yesterday and strengthened versus the euro to 4.9730/9829 from 4.9774/9813 on Thursday, but depreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.7765/7880 from 5.7679/7724 previously.
At the same time, the local unit traded higher against other Asean currencies.
The ringgit strengthened versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3869/3939 from 3.3923/3952 at the close on Thursday and rose vis-a-vis the Philippines’ peso to 8.16/8.19 from 8.20/8.21 previously.
It was also higher against the Indonesian rupiah at 298.8/299.6 from 299.7/300.2 yesterday and appreciated against the Thai baht to 13.1290/1604 from 13.1403/1565 previously.
US dollar remains flat
The US dollar stayed nearly flat on Thursday, as investors were waiting for Friday’s US employment situation report reported Xinhua.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, touched its highest level in nearly a month above 102.80 in the European session before retreating to the 102.50 area, and fell 0.04 per cent to 102.5432 in late trading.
The US Labour Department reported on Thursday that the number of initial unemployment benefit applications increased to 227,000 in the week ending July 29, up 6,000 from the previous week. A more comprehensive jobs data report is to be released Friday.
Additionally, Unit Labour Costs saw a rise of 1.6 per cent in the second quarter, following a 3.3-per cent increase in the first quarter, which was much lower than the market’s expectation of 2.6 per cent.
Other economic data indicated that the expansion of economic activity in the US service sector continued in July, although at a slower pace compared to June.
The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) declined to 52.7 from 53.9 in July, below the market forecast of 53, according to the ISM Services on Thursday.
Further details from the report showed that the Employment Index slightly decreased to 50.7 last month from 53.1 in June, while the Prices Paid Index (PPI) climbed to 56.8 from 54.1, indicating rising pressures on input prices.
According to the HCOB, the composite PMI in the euro area decreased to 48.60 points in July from 49.90 points in June, dropping to an eight-month low. Services PMI fell to 50.90 points in July from 52 points the previous month.
In late New York trading, the euro was up to US$1.0944 from US$1.0943 in the previous session, and the British pound was down to US$1.2701 from US$1.2721.
The US dollar bought 142.7030 Japanese yen, lower than 143.2550 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar was down to 0.8751 Swiss francs from 0.8772 Swiss francs, and it increased to 1.3354 Canadian dollars from 1.3342 Canadian dollars. The US dollar decreased to 10.7100 Swedish krona from 10.7123 Swedish krona.
Short-terms rates remain stable
Short-term rates are expected to remain stable today on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) operations to absorb surplus liquidity from the financial system.
Liquidity is estimated at RM35.22 billion in the conventional system and RM23.99 billion in Islamic funds.
Today, the central bank will conduct a RM1 billion conventional money market tender for seven days and a Qard tender of RM1 billion for seven days.
It will also call for two reverse repo tenders, comprising a RM1.5 billion tender for 31 days and a RM500 million tender for 91 days.
BNM also announced the availability of reverse repo, sale and buy-back agreements as well as Collateralised Commodity Murabahah facilities for tenors of one to three months.
At 4 pm, BNM will conduct up to RM36.2 billion conventional overnight tender and RM23.0 billion for Murabahah overnight tender.
Foreign exchange rates
Following are the opening Malaysian foreign exchange for major currencies today:
1 USD 4.5395/5485
100 yen 3.1809/1875
1 pound 5.7765/7880
1 euro 4.9730/9829
1 SGD 3.3869/3939
100 baht 13.1290/1604
1 mln rupiah 298.8/299.6
100 pesos 8.16/8.19
Exchange rates issued by Malayan Banking Bhd today
| SELLING TT/OD | BUYING TT | BUYING OD | |
| 1 US Dollar | 4.6100 | 4.4770 | 4.4860 |
| 1 Australian Dollar | 3.0440 | 2.9230 | 2.9060 |
| 1 Brunei Dollar | 3.4370 | 3.3390 | 3.3410 |
| 1 Canadian Dollar | 3.4500 | 3.3590 | 3.3610 |
| 1 Euro | 5.0570 | 4.8950 | 4.8890 |
| 1 New Zealand Dollar | 2.8180 | 2.7150 | 2.7060 |
| 1 Papua N Guinea Kina | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1 Singapore Dollar | 3.4370 | 3.3390 | 3.3410 |
| 1 Sterling Pound | 5.8710 | 5.6890 | 5.6670 |
| 1 Swiss Franc | 5.2590 | 5.1380 | 5.1190 |
| 100 UAE Dirham | 127.0200 | 120.4700 | 120.7700 |
| 100 Bangladesh Taka | 4.3020 | 4.0370 | 3.8380 |
| 100 Chinese Renminbi | 64.7900 | 62.0600 | N/A |
| 100 Danish Krone | 69.5700 | 64.0400 | 64.0200 |
| 100 Hongkong Dollar | 59.6800 | 56.7300 | 56.8100 |
| 100 Indian Rupee | 5.6600 | 5.3200 | 5.1400 |
| 100 Indonesian Rupiah | 0.0314 | 0.0284 | 0.0235 |
| 100 Japanese Yen | 3.2360 | 3.1340 | 3.1290 |
| 100 New Taiwan Dollar | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 100 Norwegian Krone | 46.2700 | 42.5700 | 42.3000 |
| 100 Pakistan Rupee | 1.6200 | 1.5200 | 1.3500 |
| 100 Philippine Peso | 8.4200 | 7.9400 | 7.7700 |
| 100 Qatar Riyal | 128.0300 | 121.5400 | 121.8000 |
| 100 Saudi Riyal | 124.3100 | 118.0100 | 118.2900 |
| 100 South Africa Rand | 25.6400 | 23.1500 | 23.0200 |
| 100 Sri Lanka Rupee | 1.5000 | 1.3600 | 1.1800 |
| 100 Swedish Krona | 44.5700 | 40.6000 | 40.4200 |
| 100 Thai Baht | 13.9300 | 12.3500 | 12.0500 |
Gold down
The physical price of gold as at 9.30 am stood at RM273.73 per gramme, down 77 sen from RM274.50 at 5 pm yesterday. – BERNAMA
