Ringgit eases vs greenback ahead of key US economic data

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed lower compared to the greenback on Monday on a lack of catalysts for the local note ahead of the release of key US economic data.

It was reported that the greenback hovered near a three-month high today as investors are waiting for a series of US economic data this week to assess the state of the US economy and see if it might prompt a shift in the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance.

Among them are the S&P Global US Manufacturing and US ISM Manufacturing data which will be released later and the US export and import (month-on-month) data which will be released tomorrow.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US ISM Manufacturing Index is expected to come in at 49.4 points for October compared with 49.1 points in the previous month.

“The index has been below the 50-point demarcation line, which suggests that manufacturers’ sentiments have been cautious ever since US president Donald Trump’s administration announced the Liberation Day tariff measures in early April,” he said.

At the closing, the ringgit traded lower against most major currencies.

At 6pm, the ringgit shed to 4.1980/4.2025 against the US dollar from last Friday’s close of 4.1860/4.1930.

It inched down against the yen to 2.7230/2.7261 from 2.7162/2.7210, weakened against the British pound to 5.5099/5.5158 from 5.5025/5.5117, but rose versus the euro to 4.8344/4.8396 from 4.8453/4.8534 previously.

The local note traded mixed against Asean currencies.

It slid against the Singapore dollar to 3.2206/3.2243 from 3.2185/3.2241 and was down against the Philippine peso at 7.14/7.15 from 7.12/7.14 previously.

Meanwhile, the local note advanced vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.9285/12.9483 from 12.9429/12.9702 and was flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 251.7/252.1 from 251.7/252.2 on Friday.