Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Afzanizam Rashid said the less-than-encouraging US non-farm payroll (NFP) data had sent mixed signals on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

The US NFP recorded 209,000 in June 2023, slightly below the expectation of 220,000, and is the lowest level since December 2020.

Such uncertainties, Afzanizam told Bernama, would benefit the ringgit.

The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will decide whether or not to raise the interest rate when it meets again on July 25.

SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said expectations are that tensions between the US and China were likely to ease with US treasury secretary Janet Yellen’s two-day trip to Beijing to meet with top officials.

This, he said, would lift traders’ sentiments.

The ringgit rose agains the US dollar today, opening at 4.6555/4.6600 compared with last Friday’s close of 4.6655/4.6675.

However, it was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It decreased vis-a-vis the euro to 5.1043/5.1092 from 5.0765/5.0787 at Friday’s close, slid against the Japanese yen to 3.2668/3.2702 from 3.2601/3.2617 and shed against the British pound to 5.9707/5.9765 from 5.9466/5.9492 previously.

The local note traded mixed against other Asean currencies.

The ringgit was lower versus the Singapore dollar at 3.4549/3.4585 from 3.4511/3.4528 at Friday’s close and declined against the Thai baht to 13.2484/13.2658 from 13.2471/13.2588.

It was higher against the Indonesian rupiah at 307.4/307.8 from 308.0/308.3 and rose against the Philippine peso to 8.38/8.40 from 8.39/8.39.