THE ringgit bounced from yesterday’s losses to end higher against the US dollar today as investors remained wary ahead of the release of economic data from the United States (US) this week, an analyst said.

At 6pm, the local note rose to 4.6455/6475 against the greenback from 4.6535/6565 at yesterday’s close.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said market players will be focusing on the US job opening data for July due to be released later today for forward guidance.

“While some data points indicate softening in the labour market tightness, the markets seem unsure whether they will budge the Federal Reserve’s restrictive stance on monetary policy,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies, except for the British pound, which declined to 5.8590/8628 from 5.8522/8560 at yesterday’s close.

The local note strengthened against the euro to 5.0221/0253 from 5.0290/0323 at yesterday’s close and improved against the Japanese yen to 3.1688/1711 from 3.1752/1774.

The ringgit was traded mostly lower against other Asean currencies.

It eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.4297/4322 from 3.4282/4307 at Monday’s close and was down against the Indonesian rupiah at 304.3/304.7 from 304.2/304.6 previously.

The local currency depreciated vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 13.2171/2324 from 13.1936/2088 yesterday but inched higher against the Philippine peso at 8.18/8.19 from 8.19/8.20. – Bernama, August 29, 2023.