The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar on Wednesday, supported by weaker-than-expected US economic data, which weighed on the performance of the US dollar.
At 10:06 am, the ringgit was at RM4.0890, down 0.10% since it opened early Wednesday in Asian trading.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) Report showed the number of job vacancies declined for the second consecutive month to 7.36 million in June, compared to 7.54 million in May.
He said the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell 0.01% to 99.890 points, which is expected to provide some support to the ringgit.
According to him, the ringgit is expected to continue trading in the range of RM4.08 to RM4.10 against the US dollar today.
Meanwhile, Managing Partner of SPI Asset Management, Stephen Innes, said the ringgit is expected to trade with a stronger bias, supported by continued capital inflows into the Asian technology sector and still positive global risk sentiment.
However, he said the ringgit's strengthening is expected to be limited as investors remain cautious ahead of the US Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) report on Friday.
He also explained that global currency markets are still moving in a narrow range despite improved risk appetite and a sharp decline in oil prices.
The decline in oil prices has reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) may adopt a looser monetary policy stance.
However, the decline in oil prices has also weighed on the policy outlook of other central banks, causing movements in major currencies to be more limited ahead of the NFP report.
In early trade, the ringgit, however, weakened against most major currencies.
The ringgit fell to 2.5952/5989 against the Japanese yen from 2.5929/5956 at Tuesday's close, slipped to 4.7212/7275 against the euro from 4.7120/7166, and weakened to 5.5060/5134 against the British pound from 5.5034/5088.
Against regional currencies, the ringgit was also mostly traded lower.
The ringgit fell to 3.1932/1980 against the Singapore dollar from 3.1899/1932, and weakened to 12.2487/2654 against the Thai baht.
The ringgit also fell to 227.1/227.5 against the Indonesian rupiah from 227.1/227.4, but remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.69/6.70
