KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened flat against the US dollar this morning amidst better United States (US) ADP non-farm employment data.
At 9 am, the local currency stood at 4.6295/6335 against the greenback from Wednesday’s close of 4.6290/6315.
ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the US dollar is starting to decline following the release of the ADP Non-Farm Employment Change data which came in above expectations, although still relatively low in absolute terms (208,000 actual versus the forecast of 200,000).
The ADP measures the change in employment across large US private sector companies so it is an indicator that is considered by many to be a preview of the all-important Non-Farm Payroll (NFP), he said.
“From a technical point of view, the USD/MYR is in a very important region of resistance and a bearish trend could begin soon,” he added.
Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies’ (OPEC+) decision to cut its production during the recent meeting could stabilise the local note.
“The higher oil prices after OPEC+ announced the large production cut could help stabilise the ringgit after a wobbly period.
“We are also looking for a period of consolidation ahead of the US non-farm payroll data and Budget 2023 tabling on Friday,” he told Bernama.
In the meantime, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local note increased against the British pound to 5.2614/2660 from 5.2706/2734 at yesterday’s close, rose against the Japanese yen to 3.2016/2046 from 3.2037/2056 and improved vis-a-vis the euro to 4.5901/5941 from 4.5966/5991 previously.
However, it had eased versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2545/2578 from 3.2500/2522 on Wednesday. – Bernama