At 8am, the local currency slid to 4.0650/4.0750 against the greenback, compared with yesterday’s close of 4.0580/4.0650.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Sedek Jantan said the US dollar’s strength is being driven by yield support rather than risk aversion, with US Treasury yields still anchored in the 4.1% to 4.2% range – signalling a market that is pricing a controlled slowdown rather than a growth shock.

“The first full trading week of 2026 began on a strong footing, but momentum has been interrupted by a rise in geopolitical uncertainty, prompting a tactical rotation into safe-haven currencies.

“That shift has weighed on high-beta Asian forex, leaving the ringgit temporarily on the defensive despite still-constructive global risk conditions,” he told Bernama.

He said with US labour dynamics now shaped by tighter immigration and slower labour-supply growth, a modest payrolls print is no longer viewed as recessionary and this explains why the recent Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and ADP employment data failed to move markets materially.

“Instead, investor focus has shifted to the unemployment rate, which will determine whether the US Federal Reserve can remain on hold,” he added.

At the opening, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

It was down versus the Japanese yen to 2.5907/2.5972 from 2.5888/2.5935 at yesterday’s close and decreased against the British pound to 5.4613/5.4748 from 5.4535/5.4630, however it strengthened vis-à-vis the euro to 4.7386/4.7502 from 4.7389/4.7471 yesterday.

The local note also traded lower against its Asean peers.

The ringgit inched down vis-à-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 241.9/242.6 from 241.5/242.1 at yesterday’s close and eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.1627/3.1710 from 3.1602/3.1659 yesterday.

It also declined versus the Thai baht to 12.9265/12.9645 from 12.8731/12.9007 and fell against the Philippine peso to 6.86/6.89 from 6.85/6.87 previously.