Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the latest ADP non-farm employment change data for June, which came in higher than expected, also indicated that the Fed is not about to loosen its grip on a hawkish stand.
“Hence, the non-farm payroll data print due later today will be closely monitored by market players,” he told Bernama.
At 6pm, the local currency slipped to 4.6655/4.6675 against the greenback compared with 4.6580/4.6630 at yesterday’s close.
It also traded lower against a basket of major currencies at today’s close.
The local currency declined vis-a-vis the euro to 5.0765/5.0787 from 5.0600/5.0654 at Thursday’s close, slipped against the Japanese yen to 3.2601/3.2617 from 3.2323/3.2359 and weakened against the British pound to 5.9466/5.9492 from 5.9310/5.9374 at yesterday’s close.
Meanwhile, the local currency traded mixed against other Asean currencies.
It was down versus the Singapore dollar at 3.4511/3.4528 from 3.4458/3.4497 and flat against the Philippine peso at 8.39/8.39.
However, the ringgit rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 308.0/308.3 from 309.3/309.8 yesterday and strengthened against the Thai baht to 13.2471/13.2588 from 13.2881/13.3088.