The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Monday as the greenback strengthened amid fresh volatility from the challenging global economic outlook for the second half of 2025.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.2350, down 0.19% against the US dollar from its close of 4.2270 at the close last Friday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit is expected to range between 4.23 and 4.24 today, following stronger-than-expected US (US) Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) data for May.
He highlighted that US NFP rose by 139,000 in May, higher than the consensus estimate of 126,000, while the unemployment rate was maintained at 4.2 percent for the third consecutive month, pushing the US dollar index (DXY) higher on Friday to 99.190 points.
Accordingly, while the labour market remains volatile, signs of further moderation in the data series have gradually emerged.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It rose slightly against the Japanese yen to 2.9305/9435 from 2.9324/9390 on Friday, but depreciated against the British pound to 5.7367/7618 from 5.7212/7334 and depreciated against the euro to 4.8341/8552 from 4.8268/8371.
The local currency also traded mostly lower against most of its Asean peers.
It rose against the Thai baht to 12.9468/13.0121 from 12.9599/9947 at Friday's close, while the ringgit weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.2892/3041 from 3.2862/2934, fell against the Philippine peso to 7.60/7.684 from 7.58/7.60 and fell against the Indonesian rupiah to 260.1/261.4 from 259.5/260.2.
