Ringgit gains against dollar as US jobs growth falls short
US employers added 29,000 jobs in September against a consensus estimate of 90,000, while unemployment rose to 4.2 per cent.
The ringgit strengthened against the US dollar at the Oct 5 opening, with the exchange rate at 4.0805/0870 at 8 am compared with 4.0820/0870 at Friday’s close. The gain followed weaker-than-expected US employment figures that dampened expectations of a United States Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate increase.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said September’s nonfarm payrolls report recorded 29,000 additional jobs, below the consensus estimate of 90,000. Unemployment edged up to 4.2 per cent after holding at 4.1 per cent during the preceding two months. He told Bernama the figures suggested the Fed may leave rates unchanged at its Oct 27-28 meeting.
Among major currencies, the ringgit gained against the yen, moving from 2.5906/5941 to 2.5867/5910, and the euro, from 4.5927/5983 to 4.5918/5991. It lost ground against the pound, trading at 5.4030/4116 compared with Friday’s 5.3927/3993.
Regional trading was mixed. The ringgit advanced against the Singapore dollar from 3.1908/1952 to 3.1891/1945 and against the Thai baht from 12.1579/1778 to 12.1516/1764. Rates against the Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah remained unchanged at 6.52/6.54 and 228.2/228.6 respectively.
