Ringgit gains against US dollar at opening
The local currency also strengthened against the euro and British pound, but weakened against the yen, Singapore dollar and Thai baht.
The ringgit traded at 4.0820/0885 per US dollar at 8 am on Oct 2, improving from the previous close of 4.0830/4.0875. Bernama reported that stronger demand for the ringgit supported the gain despite US economic figures that bolstered the greenback.
The euro rate moved to 4.5914/5987 from 4.6015/6066, while the British pound rate reached 5.3870/3956 compared with 5.3896/3955 at the previous close. Against the Japanese yen, however, the ringgit weakened to 2.5844/5886 from 2.5781/5811.
Regional trading was mixed. The Singapore dollar rate shifted to 3.1883/1936 from 3.1856/1894 and the Thai baht rate to 12.1207/1515 from 12.1111/1294, marking declines for the ringgit. Rates were unchanged at 6.50/6.51 for the Philippine peso and 227.2/227.6 for the Indonesian rupiah.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama that September’s US Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 54.5 points, against 54.6 points a month earlier.
He said the New Orders sub-index increased from 53.7 points to 55.3 points, indicating expectations that business activity would remain strong. Initial jobless claims declined to 197,000, while their four-week moving average fell to 200,000, he added.
