The ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar, despite the country's improved fiscal situation, boosting investor sentiment towards the local currency.
At 10:43am, the ringgit was at 4.1150, down 0.12% against the US dollar since opening early Friday in Asian trading.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid explained that the ringgit remained resilient despite the stable US labour market data.
He also noted that initial jobless claims in the US fell to 191,000 last week, compared to a consensus estimate of 219,000, while Challenger job cuts fell to 71,300 in November from 153,000 in the previous month.
Despite the data falling to a three-year low, the market still expects an interest rate cut.
At the opening, the ringgit strengthened against major currencies.
It rose against the British pound to 5.4711/4831 from 5.4868/4935, rose against the euro to 4.7816/7921 from 4.8014/8075 and strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.6470/6529 from 2.6555/6589.
The ringgit also traded higher against ASEAN currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1674/1746 from 3.1747/1788 yesterday and gained against the Indonesian rupiah to 246.5/247.2 from 246.8/247.3.
It also strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.8116/85803 from 12.8116/88580 and was stable against the Philippine peso at 6.96/6.98.
