THE ringgit has continued to strengthen against the US dollar in early trade as the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell 0.44% to 106.33 points.

At 9am, the local note rose to 4.7205/7255 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.7255/7300.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the rise in the United States (US) Initial Jobless Claims, which increased to 207,000 on October 5 from 204,000 in the previous week, had influenced investors’ sentiment.

Conversely, the ringgit was traded easier versus a basket of major currencies.

It slipped further against the yen to 3.1756/1792 from 3.1719/1751 at Thursday’s close, declined against the euro to 4.9759/9811 from 4.9651/9698 yesterday and eased vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.7496/7557 from 5.7283/7337 previously. 

At the same time, the local note was traded mixed against other Asian currencies.

It improved versus the Thai baht to 12.7650/7837 from 12.7927/8115 on Thursday but weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.4496/4536 from 3.4442/4478 previously.

It was traded almost flat against the Indonesian rupiah and the Philippine peso, trading at 302.1/302.7 from 302.4/303.0 against the rupiah and 8.33/8.34 compared with yesterday’s 8.33/8.35 versus the peso. – Bernama, October 6, 2023.