Ringgit opens lower vs greenback amid challenging global economy
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Monday as the greenback strengthened amid renewed volatility from a challenging global economy outlook for the second half of 2025.
At 8.03 am, the local note stood at 4.2375/2560 against the greenback, easing from Friday's close of 4.2270/2360.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit is expected to range between 4.23 and 4.24 today, following the stronger-than-expected United States (US) nonfarm payroll (NFP) data for May.
He highlighted that the US NFP rose 139,000 in May, higher than the consensus estimate of 126,000, while the unemployment rate was sustained at 4.2 per cent for three consecutive months, pushing the US dollar index (DXY) higher on Friday to 99.190 points.
'The latest NFP print seems to suggest that the labour market in the US is still fairly resilient despite having to contend with higher tariffs,' he told Bernama.
Nonetheless, Mohd Afzanizam said, April's NFP was revised lower to 147,000 from 177,000, and the US labour force participation rate declined to 62.4 per cent in May from 62.6 per cent in April.
'On that note, while the labour market is still chugging along, signs of further moderation in the data series have been gradually emerging.
'As business and consumer sentiments remain weak, the outlook for the second half of 2025 economy looks increasingly challenging. Hence, the case for a lower US Federal Fund Rate is gaining momentum in our view,' he added.
He noted that the ringgit has gained against the greenback, with USDMYR closing at 4.2315, giving a week-on-week appreciation of 0.6 per cent last week.
At the early session, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It slightly increased against the Japanese yen to 2.9305/9435 from Friday's 2.9324/9390, but depreciated versus the British pound to 5.7367/7618 from 5.7212/7334 and eased vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8341/8552 from 4.8268/8371.
The local currency also traded mostly lower against most of its ASEAN peers.
It rose versus the Thai baht to 12.9468/13.0121 from 12.9599/9947 at Friday's close, while the ringgit decreased against the Singapore dollar to 3.2892/3041 from 3.2862/2934, dropped against the Philippine peso to 7.60/7.64 from 7.58/7.60 and fell against the Indonesian rupiah to 260.1/261.4 from 259.5/260.2.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Ringgit slips on global economic challenges
KUALA LUMPUR : The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar today, as the greenback strengthened amid renewed volatility from a challenging global economic outlook for the second half of 2025 (H2 2025). Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the ringgit is expected to range between 4.23 and 4.24 today, following the stronger-than-expected US nonfarm payroll (NFP) data for May. He highlighted that the US NFP rose 139,000 in May, higher than the consensus estimate of 126,000, while the unemployment rate was sustained at 4.2% for three consecutive months, pushing the US dollar index (DXY) higher on Friday to 99.190 points. 'The latest NFP print seems to suggest that the labour market in the US is still fairly resilient despite having to contend with higher tariffs,' he told Bernama. Nonetheless, Afzanizam said, April's NFP was revised lower to 147,000 from 177,000, and the US labour force participation rate declined to 62.4% in May from 62.6% in April. 'On that note, while the labour market is still chugging along, signs of further moderation in the data series have been gradually emerging. 'As business and consumer sentiments remain weak, the outlook for the H2 2025 economy looks increasingly challenging. 'Hence, the case for a lower US Federal Fund Rate is gaining momentum in our view,' he added. He noted that the ringgit has gained against the greenback, with the US dollar/ringgit closing at 4.2315, giving a week-on-week appreciation of 0.6% last week. At 8.03am, the local note stood at 4.2375/4.2560 against the greenback, easing from Friday's close of 4.2270/4.2360. At the early session, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. It slightly increased against the Japanese yen to 2.9305/2.9435 from Friday's 2.9324/2.9390, but depreciated versus the British pound to 5.7367/5.7618 from 5.7212/5.7334 and eased vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8341/4.8552 from 4.8268/4.8371. The local currency also traded mostly lower against most of its Asean peers. It rose versus the Thai baht to 12.9468/13.0121 from 12.9599/12.9947 at Friday's close, while the ringgit decreased against the Singapore dollar to 3.2892/3.3041 from 3.2862/3.2934, dropped against the Philippine peso to 7.60/7.64 from 7.58/7.60 and fell against the Indonesian rupiah to 260.1/261.4 from 259.5/260.2.
BusinessToday
4 hours ago
- BusinessToday
Ringgit Falls Against US Dollar On Economic Concerns
The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Monday as the American currency strengthened amid renewed uncertainty caused by challenging global economic forecasts for the second half of 2025. At 8:03 am, the local currency was quoted at 4.2375/2560 against the US dollar, compared to 4.2270/2360 on Friday. During early trading, the ringgit was mostly weaker against a basket of major currencies. It edged up against the Japanese yen to 2.9305/9435 from 2.9324/9390 on Friday but declined against the pound to 5.7367/7618 from 5.7212/7334 and slipped versus the euro to 4.8341/8552 from 4.8268/8371. The local currency also saw mixed performance against ASEAN currencies. It strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.9468/13.0121 from 12.9599/9947 on Friday, but weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.2892/3041 from 3.2862/2934, dropped against the Philippine peso to 7.60/7.64 from 7.58/7.60 and declined versus the Indonesian rupiah to 260.1/261.4 from 259.5/260.2. Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, Chief Economist at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, said the ringgit is expected to trade between RM4.23 and RM4.24 today, following stronger-than-expected US non-farm payroll (NFP) data for May. He said the US NFP increased by 139,000 in May, exceeding the consensus estimate of 126,000, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2% for the third consecutive month. This led to the US Dollar Index (DXY) rising to 99.190 points on Friday. 'Latest NFP data shows that the US labour market remains resilient despite facing high tariffs,' he told local media. However, he noted that April's NFP figures were revised downwards from 177,000 to 147,000, while the US labour force participation rate fell to 62.4% in May from 62.6% in April. 'Therefore, although the labour market is still healthy, indicators of slower growth in the data set are becoming more apparent. 'Based on weak business and consumer sentiment, economic outlook for the second half of 2025 appears increasingly challenging. In our view, the likelihood of a cut in the US Federal Funds Rate has risen,' he added. Last week, the ringgit strengthened against the US dollar, with USDMYR closing at RM4.2315, marking a weekly gain of 0.6%. Related
Malaysian Reserve
4 hours ago
- Malaysian Reserve
Ringgit opens lower vs greenback amid challenging global economy
THE ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Monday as the greenback strengthened amid renewed volatility from a challenging global economy outlook for the second half of 2025. At 8.03 am, the local note stood at 4.2375/2560 against the greenback, easing from Friday's close of 4.2270/2360. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit is expected to range between 4.23 and 4.24 today, following the stronger-than-expected United States (US) nonfarm payroll (NFP) data for May. He highlighted that the US NFP rose 139,000 in May, higher than the consensus estimate of 126,000, while the unemployment rate was sustained at 4.2 per cent for three consecutive months, pushing the US dollar index (DXY) higher on Friday to 99.190 points. 'The latest NFP print seems to suggest that the labour market in the US is still fairly resilient despite having to contend with higher tariffs,' he told Bernama. Nonetheless, Mohd Afzanizam said, April's NFP was revised lower to 147,000 from 177,000, and the US labour force participation rate declined to 62.4 per cent in May from 62.6 per cent in April. 'On that note, while the labour market is still chugging along, signs of further moderation in the data series have been gradually emerging. 'As business and consumer sentiments remain weak, the outlook for the second half of 2025 economy looks increasingly challenging. Hence, the case for a lower US Federal Fund Rate is gaining momentum in our view,' he added. He noted that the ringgit has gained against the greenback, with USDMYR closing at 4.2315, giving a week-on-week appreciation of 0.6 per cent last week. At the early session, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. It slightly increased against the Japanese yen to 2.9305/9435 from Friday's 2.9324/9390, but depreciated versus the British pound to 5.7367/7618 from 5.7212/7334 and eased vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8341/8552 from 4.8268/8371. The local currency also traded mostly lower against most of its ASEAN peers. It rose versus the Thai baht to 12.9468/13.0121 from 12.9599/9947 at Friday's close, while the ringgit decreased against the Singapore dollar to 3.2892/3041 from 3.2862/2934, dropped against the Philippine peso to 7.60/7.64 from 7.58/7.60 and fell against the Indonesian rupiah to 260.1/261.4 from 259.5/260.2. — BERNAMA
