Kuala lumpur: The ringgit ended lower against the greenback and other major currencies on Monday, pressured by rising United States Treasury yields and renewed uncertainty over the path of US monetary policy. At 6 pm, the local currency eased to 4.0935/0975 versus the greenback from last Friday's close of 4.0835/0875.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes indicated that investors are now turning their attention to a busy US economic data calendar, including the Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS), ADP employment data, and the nonfarm payrolls report on August 7. Innes emphasized that the upcoming US labour market data will be critical in determining whether the US dollar has further room to weaken, with nonfarm payrolls remaining the week's key macro risk event.
Meanwhile, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the ringgit versus the US dollar started on a stronger note, with USDMYR lingering around RM4.0788 in the morning session before gradually moving towards RM4.09 in the afternoon session. He added that the Japanese yen was showing significant improvement, with US dollar-yen at 156.91 yen after piercing the 160 yen mark in early June, suggesting intervention by Japanese government authorities as a likely factor behind the currency's appreciation.
Dr Mohd Afzanizam further highlighted the statement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who, in a post on X, reaffirmed that the Treasury remains in close contact with Japan's Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan. Bessent noted that Friday's coordinated foreign exchange actions countered disorderly yen movements, and he assured that the US government would not hesitate to participate in further joint intervention.
The ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies at the close, depreciating versus the Japanese yen to 2.6062/6089 from 2.5520/5548 at last Friday's close. It fell vis- -vis the euro to 4.7165/7211 from 4.6981/7027, and declined versus the British pound to 5.5053/5107 from 5.4923/4977 previously. Additionally, the ringgit also traded lower against regional currencies, weakening versus the Thai baht, declining against the Indonesian rupiah, edging down vis- -vis the Philippine peso, and slipping against the Singapore dollar.