Kuala lumpur: The ringgit is anticipated to maintain a steady trading range between RM3.96 and RM3.98 against the US dollar in the upcoming week, as attention focuses on critical United States economic data.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid highlighted that the forthcoming US labour market data, especially the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), will be the center of attention. He noted that this data is crucial for the Federal Reserve, which is looking for clear signs of a softening labour market to guide its monetary policy decisions. Without such evidence, the Federal Reserve is likely to continue its current restrictive monetary stance.

The ringgit saw a slight decline against the US dollar, recording 3.9690/9740 on Thursday, in contrast to 3.9630/9670 at the close of the previous week. The local currency also weakened against a variety of major global currencies throughout the week. It fell against the British pound to 5.3593/3661 from 5.3429/3483, depreciated against the euro to 4.6417/6476 from 4.6312/6358, and decreased against the Japanese yen to 2.4907/4942 from 2.4808/4834.

Conversely, the ringgit performed better against several of its ASEAN counterparts. It appreciated against the Thai baht to 12.1711/1932 from 12.2183/2363, improved against the Philippine peso to 6.45/6.47 from 6.52/6.53, and gained ground against the Indonesian rupiah to 228.7/229.2 from 230.0/230.3. However, it experienced a slight dip versus the Singapore dollar, trading at 3.1061/1103 compared to 3.1009/1043 from last week.

The local financial markets remained closed on Friday due to the Labour Day public holiday.