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Malaysia: Ringgit ends lower against greenback ahead of US economic data
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar today as the greenback was supported by the expected positive momentum from the ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index data due later in the session, a dealer said.
At 6pm, the local note fell to 4.1785/1795 versus the greenback from Monday’s closing of 4.1730/1760.
ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the data for September is likely to impact the US dollar, whereby a higher-than-expected reading could be taken as potentially positive for the dollar as the ISM measures the health of the economy from a business perspective.
“This week will also see the release of non-farm payroll data, the most important macroeconomic indicator to gauge the health of the US economy.
“Should this number show a higher than expected reading, it could cause the dollar to appreciate against the ringgit,” he told Bernama.
At the close, the ringgit was traded almost lower against a basket of major currencies.
It dropped versus the Japanese yen to 3.7587/7596 from 3.7510/7540 yesterday, eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.0801/0813 compared with 3.0727/0751, and depreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8475/8486 from 4.8440/8475 previously.
However, the local noted rose versus the British pound to 5.6620/6933 from 5.6674/6714 at Monday’s close. — Bernama