malaysiang
Kuala Lumpur: The ringgit eased slightly at the close against the US dollar on Friday ahead of the release of the American non-farm payroll (NFP) data later tonight and the US presidential election next week, said an analyst. At 6 pm, the local note dipped to 4.3780/3835 against the greenback from Wednesday’s close of 4.3755/3805.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes noted, ‘It has been a slow day for the ringgit as liquidity dries up ahead of the US election, with an added dose of caution around tonight’s NFP release.’ At the close, the ringgit was mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The ringgit showed gains against the British pound, rising to 5.6502/6573 from Wednesday’s close of 5.6877/6942. However, it fell against the Japanese yen, declining to 2.8652/8690 from 2.8591/8625, and slipped against the euro to 4.7532/7592 from 4.7430/7485.
Despite its decline against major currencies, the local note traded higher against ASEAN currencies. It
experienced a slight increase against the Indonesian rupiah at 278.2/278.7 from 278.5/279.0 and edged up vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.3054/3098 from 3.3080/3120. The ringgit also advanced against the Philippine peso to 7.49/7.51 from Wednesday’s close of 7.51/7.52 and strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.9103/9322 from 12.9837/13.0047.
