THE ringgit rebounded to open higher against the US dollar today after the release of the United States ISM manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data for March, which came in lower than expected at 46.3 points.

At 9am, the local note rose to 4.4030/4075 versus the US dollar compared to 4.4175/4195 yesterday.

The US ISM data for March was forecasted to be 47.5 points based on compared to 47.7 points in February.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that more importantly, new orders and employment indexes fell further to 44.3 and 46.9, respectively, in March.

“This indicates that business sentiment was weaker for the fifth consecutive month.

“Such an outturn would bolster the case that the US Federal Reserve is likely to switch its stand after delivering a 475 basis points hike in Fed fund rate,” he told Bernama.

The US dollar index dropped 0.44% to 102.059 points.

“This means the ringgit could appreciate against the greenback like other currencies.

“The US dollar could range between RM4.40 and RM4.41 today,” he added.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It fell versus the British pound to 5.4637/4693 from 5.4552/4576, eased marginally vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7988/8037 from 4.7930/7952, and depreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.3210/3247 compared with 3.3127/3145 yesterday. 

The ringgit traded mostly higher against Asean currencies.

It inched up versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3173/3212 from 3.3182/3199, appreciated vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 8.06/8.08 from 8.07/8.07 and gained versus the Indonesian rupiah to 294.00/294.50 from 295.00/295.30. – Bernama, April 4, 2023.

However, the local note weakened against the Thai baht to 12.8607/8799 from 12.8419/8537 at yesterday’s close.