The ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar on Tuesday, extending its gains as the greenback weakened on rising expectations of a US interest rate cut.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.2050, up 0.24% against the US dollar since it opened early Tuesday in Asian trading.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) continued to fall as the market priced in a possible Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut next week, following weaker US jobs data.
He said economists would be watching the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics later today, amid expectations of a downward revision in job growth.
He said the main message was that the labour market was weak and the Fed was seen to be behind the curve in cutting interest rates.
The ringgit was likely to maintain its upward trend and hover around 4.21 to 4.22 per dollar.
The ringgit, however, was slightly lower against major currencies in early trade.
It eased to 2.8545/8686 against the yen from 2.8536/8565 on Monday, eased to 5.7009/7287 against the pound from 5.6956/7011, and fell to 4.9508/9749 against the euro from 4.9430/9477.
Against Asean currencies, the ringgit traded mostly stronger.
It rose to 257.9/259.3 against the rupiah from 258.5/258.8, strengthened to 3.2795/2958 against the Singapore dollar from 3.2831/2865, and rose to 7.42/7.46 against the peso from 7.43/7.44
However, it depreciated to 13.2734/3452 against the baht from 13.2299/2491.
